tiia 


• 


"fln  Sargasso.' 


MISSING 


A  ROMANCE 


NARRATIVE  OF  CAPT.  AUSTIN  CLARK,  OF  THE  TRAMP  STEAMER 

"CARIBAS,"  WHO,  FOR  TWO  YEARS,  WAS  A  CAPTIVE  AMONG 

THE  SAVAGE   PEOPLE  OF  THE   SEAWEED   SEA. 

liRtRCw'i  »!'..£.  LiBHARY 

MtW   YORK. 

BY 

JULIUS  CHAMBERS 

AUTHOR  OF  "A  MAD  WORLD  AND  ITS  PEOPLE,"  ETC.,  ETC.,  ETC. 


.:: 


OO  <     < 


MDCCCXCVI 

THE  TRANSATLANTIC   PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  -  LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1896 

BY 
Tux  TRANSATLANTIC  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


PAGB. 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE,      ....; 

I.  A  KNIGHT  ERRANT  OF  THE  SEA,      .        .7 

II.   MY  FATAL  CURIOSITY,          ...        10 

III.  I  AM  BETRAYED,       .....     15 

IV.  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SEA,     ...        21 
V.   SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,       .    25 

VI.   ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS,     ...        33 
VII.   THE  AGONY  OF  SUSPENSE,        .        .        .42 

VIII.     FlDETTE,      ......  50 

IX.  AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING,     .        .        .59 

X.  COOKING  FOR  ALL,    .....  69 

XL  "  Music  HATH  CHARMS/'      ...  74 

XII.  AGONY  OF  A  JEALOUS  HEART,          .        .  80 

XIII.  "  THE  WEEK  OF  SILENCE/'  ...  83 

XIV.  THE  KANTOON'S  DISPLEASURE,        .        .  88 
XV.  THE  CHIN-GOON  KEVOLT,      ...  91 

XVI.   THE  PAPIER-MACHE  ORANGES,        .        .     99 

XVII.   THE  SPAR  FIGHT,         .  ...      105 

XVIII.   FRUIT  FOR  DEAD  MEN,     .  .        .        .111 

XIX.   FIDETTE  BECOMES  MINE,  .        .        .      116 

XX.   MAKING  NEW  BOATS,       .  .       .        .122 

XXI.   I  BECOME  A  SARGASSON,  .        .        .      130 

XXII.   A  SOLEMN  CEREMONIAL,  .        .        .  137 

XXIII.  THE  NEW  LIFE,    .        .  .        .        .      143 

XXIV.  THE  LAST  OF  AN  ENEMY,  .        .        .147 
XXV.   THE  DANGER  OF  AN  IDEA,  .        .        .      152 

XXVI.   THE  NEW  WOMAN  IN  SARGASSO,      .        .  156 
XXVII.   EVEN  IN  SARGASSO  DOTH  ENVY  FIND  A 

PLACE, 

XXVIII.  PLOTTING  TREASON,         .       .       . 
XXIX.   THE  CARIBAS  UNDER  STEAM,        . 
XXX.   FAREWELL  TO  THE  FLOATING  CONTINENT,  1 


'G43280 


PREFACE. 

Within  a  week's  sail  of  New  York  is  a  vast  and  track 
less  waste,  unexplored  by  the  hardiest  sailors,  un 
crossed  by  the  stateliest  ships;  a  monster  mass  of  floating 
debris,  consisting  of  growing  seaweed,  blooming  and 
blossoming  orchids,  creeping  and  twining  vines;  trav 
ersed  by  broad  and  easily  navigated  straits  that  stretch 
through  its  broad  expanse  of  living  green.  It  is  called 
The  Sargasso  Sea. 

There  dwells  a  nation  of  castaways — a  new  and  dis 
tinct  differentiation  of  the  human  race1.  Countless  lost 
ships,  whose  tales  of  disaster  never  have  been  told,  are 
floating  there  to-day.  The  destination  of  every  wander 
ing  hulk,  once  it  reaches  the  Gulf  Stream  or  the  Spanish 
Main,  is  this  Harbor  of  Missing  Ships! 

Geographers  have  little  to  say  about  this  floating  con 
tinent,  but  the  Sargasso  Sea  has  always  been  a  wonder- 
shop  to  me,  wherein  are  gathered  all  the  lost,  strayed 
and  stolen  treasures  in  the  ocean's  keeping.  In  every 
grassy  cove,  a  story;  in  every  watery  lane,  a  romance;  in 
every  frowning  hulk,  a  Secret  of  the  Sea,  J.  C. 


MERCAH I ILE  LIBRARY 

NEW  YORK. 


MISSING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  KNIGHT-ERRANT  OF  THE  SEA. 

My  name,  with  that  of  my  crew  of  forty  men,  has  been 
posted  for  two  years  at  Lloyds  in  New  York  and  Lon 
don,  followed  by  the  single  word  "Missing."  This 
statement  is  still  true  of  the  two  score  of  good  men  who 
sailed  with  me  in  the  steamer  Caribas,  but  I  have  re 
turned  to  New  York  alive. 

I  am  an  American,  was  born  and  raised  in  Brooklyn, 
and  served  my  apprenticeship  before  the  mast  on  tha 
"Black  Ball"  line  between  New  York  and  Liverpool. 

I  then  entered  the  employment  of  Cameron  &  Co.,  at 
the  age  of  23,  as  second  mate  on  one  of  the  Australian 
ships,  and  made  four  voyages  'round  the  Horn  to  Mel 
bourne.  As  wre  sailed  on  our  return  journey  the  last 
time  I  was  made  first  mate,  and,  although  only  27  years 
of  age,  an  accident  to  the  captain  during  the  first  week 
gave  me  command  of  the  ship  for  the  three  months  that 
succeeded. 

On  my  arrival  at  New  York  I  was  offered  a  position 
as  captain  of  a  tramp  steamer  sent  out  from  Plymouth  by 
Triplett  &  Jones.  That  firm  is  one  of  the  largest  owners 
of  vessels  for  charter  in  Great  Britain,  The  little  iron 


8  MISSING. 

steamship  was  already  in  New  York,  and  I  went  down  to 
the  Erie  Basin  to  look  her  over.  The  Caribas,  named 
after  the  Marquis  of  that  name,  was  a  trim  craft.  Her 
engines  were  of  the  newest  pattern.  She  had  no  accom 
modations  for  carrying  passengers,  but  her  general  fit 
tings  and  equipment  were  excellent.  The  cabin  and  the 
captain's  quarters  were  finished  in  mahogany;  the  fore 
castle,,,  was  in  hardwood,  and  very  comfortable  for  the 
men.  Although  I  had  previously  had  a  contempt  for  a 
tramp  steamer  and  thought  the  command  of  such  a  craft 
unworthy  of  a  deep-water  sailor,  I  decided  to  accept  this 
position,  and  to  follow  for  a  few  years  the  wandering  life 
it  entailed. 

There  was  some  glamour  attaching  to  the  position, 
because,  unlike  the  master  of  a  transatlantic  steamship, 
whose  route  is  over  the  same  course  week  after  week, 
the  commander  of  an  ocean  tramp  visits  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Entering  port  to  deliver  his  cargo  of  goods 
to  a  consignee,  he  knows  not  whether  a  cable  order 
awaiting  him  there  will  take  him  to  the  North  Atlantic 
or  the  Indian  Ocean,  to  Halifax  or  to  Singapore.  He 
must  accept  his  duty  in  any  climate;  and  the  likelihood  is 
that  in  the  end  his  friends  and  employers  will  be  watch 
ing  the  register  at  Lloyds,  just  as  were  mine  through  two 
long  and  lingering  years. 

The  commander  of  a  tramp  steamer  is  a  commercial 
knight-errant  of  the  sea — a  homeless  wanderer,  cut  off 
from  all  ties  of  blood  and  affection,  and  devoted  to  the 
remorseless  accumulation  of  gain  for  people  personally 
unknown  to  him.  His  pay  is  always  small,  and  the  only 
opportunity  he  has  of  increasing  it  is  by  an  occasional 
passienger  from  port  to  port,  for  whom  he  can  surrender 
his  stateroom  and  enjoy  instead  a  sofa  in  the  cabin. 

Romantic  as  is  his  life,  I  never  knew  the  commander 
of  an  ocean  tramp  who  excelled  at  handling  the  English 
language.  He  may  know  how  to  box  the  compass,  to 
calculate  the  latitude  and  longitude  from  the  midday  sun, 


A  KNIGHT  ERRANT  OF  THE  SEA.  9 

to  'follow  out  the  chart,  or  to  work  down  a  lee  shore 
with  the  lead,  but  when  it  comes  to  writing,  he  usually 
lards  his  text  with  so  many  words  only  known  to  sailor 
men  that  the  general  reader  is  mystified  and  bored. 
While,  modestly,  I  might  claim  a  somewhat  varied  ex 
perience  in  the  forecastle  and  the  cabin,  this  is  my  first 
attempt  at  wielding  a  pen,  and  I  shall  rely  very  much 
upon  the  trusty  blue  pencil  of  the  editor  to  render  what 
I  shall  say  creditable  to  me, 


10  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MY  FATAL  CURIOSITY. 

We  sailed  from  Harbeck's  Stores,  New  York  harbor, 
on  a  fair  June  day,  for  the  Azores,  intending  to  make 
our  first  call  at  Horta,  and  then  to  touch  at  Ponte  Del- 
gada,  whence  we  would  proceed  to  Lisbon  for  orders. 

At  the  last  hour  I  had  accepted  a  passenger  in  the  per 
son  of  Arthur  Gray.  He  claimed  to  be  an  artist,  and 
certainly  exhibited  evidences  of  his  profession  in  the 
portfolio  and  drawing  pads  that  made  part  of  his  lug 
gage.  He  had  with  him  one  of  the  new  Secor  launches, 
propelled  by  direct  explosion  against  the  water  astern. 
It  was  built  with  more  shear  than  an  ordinary  craft  of 
the  kind,  so  that,  as  he  maintained,  it  would  be  possible 
to  navigate  the  ocean  in  calm  weather. 

Three  days  from  New  York,  at  Gray's  urgent  solicita 
tion,  I  altered  the  course  of  the  Caribas.  After  reach 
ing  longitude  40  I  steered  to  the  southeast  and  held 
that  direction  until  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day,  when 
we  began  to  sight  many  derelicts.  My  guest  understood 
the  purport  of  this  quite  as  well  as  I  did.  He  knew  we 
were  nearing  the  Sargasso  Sea,  that  great  assemblage 
of  seaweed  and  floating  hulks  that  for  centuries  has  been 
accumulating  in  the  eternal  calm  of  the  mid-Atlantic. 

The  gazetteers  define  the  geographical  limits  of  the 
Sargasso  Sea  as  included  between  22  degrees  and  28  de 
grees  north  latitude  and  25  degrees  and  60  degrees  lon 
gitude  west  of  Greenwich.  In  area,  therefore,  it  equals 


MY  FATAL   CURIOSITY.  11 

about  200,000  square  miles,  only  slightly  less  than  that 
occupied  by  the  State  of  Texas.  Its  position  varies 
somewhat  from  year  to  year,  navigators  maintaining 
that  the  floating  continent,  under  the  influence  of  a  de 
flected  African  current,  is  brought  several  hundred  miles 
nearer  to  the  Azores  some  years  than  others. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  deny  this,  though  I  believe  the 
extent  of  the  change  is  exaggerated. 

Being  the  navigating  officer,  as  well  as  captain  of  the 
Caribas,  I  felt  considerable  responsibility  in  taking  my 
vessel  into  this  uncharted  part  of  the  Atlantic.  The  offi 
cial  Admiralty  chart,  as  well  as  that  supplied  by  our 
Navy  Department,  indicated  open  water  in  all  that  vast 
stretch  between  the  Azores  and  Bermuda.  But  already 
large  masses  of  floating  sod,  composed  of  matted  and 
interlaced  trees  and  seaweed,  were  within  sight.  I  re 
membered  the  story  of  the  ancient  Argonauts,  who  sailed 
in  the  first  tramp  voyage  to  Colchis,  and  who  encoun 
tered  islands  that  "clapped  together  with  the  swell  of  the 
tide!"  In  the  Sargasso  Sea  I  found  a  veritable  realiza 
tion  of  that  statement  in  the  watery  lanes  that  separated 
islands  of  seaweed.  They  were  constantly  varying  in 
width.  I  was,  naturally,  very  wary  of  penetrating  any  of 
these  narrow  sounds,  for  fear  that  the  adjacent  islands 
might  close  together  and  cut  off  my  retreat. 

A  cast  of  the  lead  showed  great  depth.  To  anchor 
was  impossible.  I  admit,  however,  that  the  thoughts  of 
abandoned  wealth  to  be  found  aboard  the  thousand  float 
ing  craft  of  the  Sargasso  Sea  appealed  to  my  cupidity  so 
strongly  that,  after  a  day's  deliberation,  I  made  fast  to  a 
great,  rolling  hulk  that  had  once  been  a  full-rigged  ship. 
She  was  badly  water-logged  and  had  listed  to  an  angle 
of  25  degrees. 

The  sun  rose  above  the  eastern  horizon  with  great 
splendor  on  the  following  morning.  The  sky  was  clear 
and  almost  golden-hued.  I  was  called  on  deck  by  the 
first  mate  because  of  the  report  from  a  man  at  the  mast- 


12  MISSING. 

head,  who  had  been  sent  aloft  with  a  good  glass  to  make 
a  survey  of  the  surrounding  ocean.  The  mate  first 
brought  to  my  attention  a  wonderful  mirage  that  ap 
peared  just  above  the  horizon.  I  had  never  before  ob 
served  a  mirage  in  the  eastern  sky,  and  had  supposed 
that  it  was  only  possible  for  the  setting  sun  to  produce  it. 
But  on  this  occasion  all  my  experience  was  swept  aside, 
and  we  saw  plainly  in  the  sky  an  assemblage  of  vessels, 
of  all  sizes  and  conditions,  each  separated  by  a  narrow 
strip  of  green  sod,  so  arranged  that  they  might  not  crash 
together  and  destroy  each  other.  The  masts  were  still 
standing  on  some,  but  in  most  cases  these  were  utterly 
gone.  I  cannot  describe  at  this  time  the  thrill  of  curi 
osity  with  which  I  scrutinized  the  strange  discovery. 
There  was  a  semblance  of  order  regarding  the  arrange 
ment  of  the  ships  that  promptly  suggested  to  my  active 
imagination  the  presence  of  a  directing  human  intelli 
gence.  But  I  said  nothing  to  the  mate  on  that  subject. 

We  were  joined  at  the  bow  by  my  passenger,  Arthur 
Gray,  who  was  in  an  almost  uncontrollable  condition  of 
enthusiasm.  He  had  been  talking  with  the  man  from 
the  masthead,  and  added  to  our  information  the  startling 
declaration  of  the  lookout  that  he  had  descried  moving 
objects  in  the  City  of  Ships! 

If  I  had  been  lukewarm  before;  if  I  had  hesitated  re 
garding  the  exploration  of  the  mysterious  region,  my 
mind  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  and  decisive  conclusion 
by  this  statement.  I  ran  up  the  rattlings  to  the  masthead 
and  was  greatly  astonished  at  what  I  beheld.  About 
thirty  miles  to  the  southeast  was  clearly  to  be -seen  the 
same  congregation  of  vessels  reflected  in  the  sky  and 
already  described  by  the  man  who  had  been  aloft. 

Then  and  there  I  resolved  to  accept  the  proposition 
of  Arthur  Gray  to  enter  his  launch  and  go  on  a  voyage 
of  exploration. 

Committing  the  care  of  the  Caribas  to  my  first  mate 
and  taking  my  quadrant,  one  of  the  ship's  chronometers 


MY  FATAL  CURIOSITY.  13 

and  several  days'  provisions,  I  prepared  to  enter  the 
launch  as  soon  as  it  was  ready. 

A  derrick  was  rigged  from  the  foremast,  and  the 
stanch  little  craft  was  soon  hoisted  over  the  ship's  side 
with  the  aid  of  a  steam  windlass.  Meanwhile,  all  the  oil 
tanks  in  the  launch  had  been  filled,  and,  adding  a  water 
cask,  we  were  soon  ready. 

Fully  expecting  to  return  within  forty-eight  hours,  I 
merely  gave  the  first  officer  general  directions  regarding 
the  care  of  the  ship.  I  told  him  to  keep  the  men  em 
ployed  with  the  tar  bucket  and  the  holy  stone.  On 
leaving  I  saluted  the  first  mate. 

The  second  mate  stood  at  the  ladder  and  touched  his 
cap  as  I  descended.  He  evidently  had  a  premonition 
of  coming  trouble,  and  was  so  far  guilty  of  a  breach  of 
discipline  as  to  suggest  that  he  be  allowed  to  accompany 
me  upon  my  hazardous  journey.  I  replied  with  a  frown 
and  a  shake  of  the  head. 

Without  any  suggestion  from  the  owner  of  the  launch, 
I  took  my  seat  at  the  tiller,  while  Gray  looked  after  the 
engine.  Despite  the  rigid  discipline  maintained  aboard 
the  Caribas,  the  entire  ship's  company,  except  those  ac 
tually  engaged  in  scrubbing  the  deck,  assembled  at  the 
bulwarks  to  watch  our  departure.  I  confess  that  I  was 
rather  pleased  than  annoyed  at  this. 

It  touched  my  vanity,  as  I  suppose  it  would  have 
awakened  that  feeling  in  any  man. 

We  got  under  headway  about  9  o'clock  and  made  for 
the  first  broad  canal  we  discovered.  While  at  the  mast 
head  I  had  attempted  to  follow  this  channel  with  my 
glass,  just  as  I  might  have  traced  the  sinuous  windings 
of  a  sluggish  stream  through  a  grassy  meadow;  but  I 
had  not  been  able  to  outline  its  course  beyond  a  few 
miles,  because  of  the  height  of  the  brushwood,  covered 
with  its  parasitic  growth  of  plants.  We  steamed  along 
gayly  under  full  headway  for  about  an  hour,  doing  about 
eight  miles,  I  should  say,  because  of  our  heavy  load,  and 


14  MISSING. 

although'  the  channel  we  navigated  varied  greatly  in 
width  at  places,  it  was  broad  enough  at  all  points  to  have 
admitted  the  Caribas.  The  average  width  of  the  passage 
was  about  that  of  the  Grand  Canal  at  Venice,  and  though 
its  convolutions  were  more  numerous,  we  had  no  trouble 
in  following  the  main  channel. 

As  we  penetrated  farther  and  farther  into  this  great 
mass  of  floating  herbage,  I  was  particularly  struck  with 
the  strange  mental  effect  produced  upon  me  by  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  ocean  swell  underneath  the  overlying  mass. 
For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  felt  a  sense  of  dizziness 
and  seasickness.  To  the  eye  it  was  much  the  same  as 
if  in  the  midst  of  a  far-reaching  prairie  one  should  find 
the  land  heaving  and  sinking  in  long  undulations, 


I  AM  BETRAYED  15 


CHAPTER  III. 

I   AM   BETRAYED. 

All  this  time  I  had  kept  close  to  my  right  hand  a  re 
peating  rifle;  but  under  the  pretext  of  wishing  to  shoot 
some  wild  fowl,  my  companion  gained  possession  of  it 
and  moved  off  to  the  bow  of  the  boat.  I  thought  noth 
ing  of  this  act  for  some  time,  but  I  observed  that  Gray 
always  left  the  gun  forward  when  he  came  amidships  to 
attend  to  the  engine. 

When,  at  the  end  of  three  hours,  we  had  come  within 
plain  sight  of  the  great  cluster  of  swaying  hulks,  and 
had  reached  a  point  where  many  small  canals  rediated 
from  a  central  pool,  my  companion,  the  artist,  promptly 
indicated  the  channel  that  I  was  to  take  and  showed  a 
familiarity  with  the  landmarks  that  actually  startled  me. 
He  would  say:  "Steer  for  that  redwood  tree  on  the  port 
bow;  bear  'round  by  that  logwood  trunk;  keep  wide 
out,  and  avoid  the  wire  grass  on  the  right  just  ahead; 
take  care  here,  there's  a  sunken  tree;  put  the  helm  hard 
down  or  we  won't  round  this  corner,"  and  many  other 
expressions  indicating  previous  knowledge  of  the  place. 

I  was  on  the  point  of  asking  him  several  times  whether 
he  knew  or  simply  divined  the  obstructions,  but  I  was  so 
busy  watching  his  movements,  which  now  had  aroused 
my  suspicions,  that  I  did  not  scrutinize  the  prospect 
ahead.  For  that  reason  we  had  approached  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  community  of  floating  wrecks  be 
fore  I  gave  it  careful  survey. 


16  MISSING. 

Unslinging  my  glass,  I  focused  it  upon  the  first  large 
vessel,  and  was  startled  to  find  objects  moving  about  its 
decks.  Uttering  an  exclamation  of  astonishment,  I 
hailed  my  companion  for  an  explanation.  He  burst  into 
a  hysterical  laugh,  but  made  no  answer. 

"What  are  they?"  I  asked.  "Brownies  or  living  peo 
ple?" 

"They  are  my  countrymen!"  was  his  reply,  with  an 
arrogance  that  was  offensive  to  me. 

My  first  thought  was  to  reach  for  my  Winchester  and 
compel  him  to  return  to  the  Caribas;  but  the  gun  was 
in  his  possession. 

A  moment  later  the  engine  quit  working — evidently 
due  to  some  false  adjustment  by  Gray.  I  also  discov 
ered  that  the  oars  I  had  placed  in  the  boat  for  use  in  case 
of  accident  had  been  dropped  overboard,  unobserved 
by  me. 

Though  I  had  been  brought  up  on  the  sea,  knew  no 
other  life,  and  had  passed  through  all  sorts  of  dangers 
of  calm  and  storm,  I  became  imbued  with  an  indescriba 
ble  dread  of  my  companion  and  of  the  strange  people 
on  the  floating  derelicts. 

Carried  by  a  current  that  I  had  not  before  observed, 
we  were  soon  within  hailing  distance  of  a  large  hulk,  and 
my  companion  gave  a  signal  that  was  clearly  recognized 
by  the  people  on  board. 

Low  as  we  were  in  the  water,  seated  in  the  launch,  I 
am  sure  that  fully  500  vessels  of  all  sizes,  descriptions 
and  conditions  were  in  sight.  Some  of  them  were  moss- 
grown.  Others  were  covered  with  coats  of  barnacles 
inches  in  thickness.  Many  were  bright  and  new  as  the 
day  on  which  they  left  the  ways  and  took  their  first 
plunge  into  the  briny  deep. 

As  we  slowly  drifted  onward  we  were  hailed1  from  every 
ship  we  passed.  The  language  was  a  weird  and  curious 
one,  apparently  a  compound  of  all  the  modern  tongues. 
All  known  languages  of  the  world  were  represented. 


/  AM  BETRA  YED.  17 

Though  my  early  education  had  been  indifferent,  exten 
sive  travel  had  made  me  more  or  less  familiar  with  Span 
ish,  French,  Italian,  Portuguese,  Norwegian,  Russian, 
German,  Greek,  Danish  and,  I  may  say,  several  dialects  of 
some  of  these  languages. 

Therefore  I  could  follow  the  trend  of  the  conversa 
tion  between  my  companion  and  the  Sargassons. 

Their  speech  chiefly  concerned  me.  Little  by  little  I 
became  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  I  had  been  lured  away 
from  my  ship  and  into  the  hands  of  this  strange  people 
by  this  pretended  artist  emissary  of  the  Sargassons. 
What  the  purpose  of  this  kidnaping  was  did  not  at  once 
appear.  I  could  not  comprehend  of  what  possible  ser 
vice  I  could  be  to  this  community.  The  few  valuables 
that  I  carried  about  my  person,  such  as  the  Winchester 
gun,  my  watch  and  diamond  pin,  could  have  little  value 
in  their  hands,  because  they  had  no  occasions  on  which 
to  display  articles  of  jewelry.  I  soon  discovered  that  my 
companion,  the  supposed  artist,  was  well  known  through 
out  the  community.  He  was  hailed  in  a  dozen  different 
tongues  from  as  many  different  vessels,  and  always  in  a 
respectful  and  familiar  tone. 

During  all  this  time  I  had  remained  motionless  at  the 
stern  of  the  launch,  deliberating  upon  some  plan  by 
which  I  could  get  rid  of  my  companion,  and  regain  pos 
session  of  the  little  craft,  in  which,  by  some  miraculous 
means,  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  return  to  my  ship.  The 
break-down  of  the  machinery  had,  however,  cut  off  that 
possibility.  Capture  seemed  inevitable,  although  I  fully 
realized  that,  had  I  possession  of  my  Winchester  gun, 
with  the  belt  full  of  cartridges  that  I  still  retained  about 
my  waist,  I  could  hold  at  bay  the  entire  Sargasson  na 
tion.  I  reasoned  at  the  time,  and,  as  I  afterwards  ascer 
tained,  correctly,  that  powder  was  scarce  among  the  Sar 
gassons. 

My  first  impulse  had  been  to  shoot  my  treacherous 
companion  with  the  revolver  I  carried  in  my  hip  pocket. 


18  MISSING. 

But  I  discovered  that  it  did  not  contain  a  single  loaded 
cartridge,  and  the  recognition  of  that  fact  by  my  guard, 
who,  from  the  bow  of  the  boat,  constantly  kept  me  under 
cover  with  my  own  gun,  increased  his  confidence  and 
caused  him  to  jeer  at  me.  I  therefore  made  the  best  of 
a  bad  situation  and  surrendered.  I  took  one  precaution, 
however,  that  was  to  secretly  loosen  the  belt  of  cartridges 
from  my  waist  and  drop  it  into  the  sea. 

A  line,  made  of  twisted  sea  grass  was  finally  thrown  to 
Gray  from  one  of  the  largest  vessels,  and  we  were  soon 
drawn  alongside.  This  hulk  stood  fully  twenty-five  feet 
out  of  water,  and  was  imbedded  in  a  thoroughly  compact 
mass  of  floating  verdure.  As  the  boat  was  made  fast  to 
a  narrow  strip  of  sod  and  interlaced  twigs  that  sepa 
rated  the  vessel  from  the  open  water,  my  companion 
sprang  out  lightly  upon  a  tree  trunk,  and,  addressing  me 
familiarly,  said: 

''We  land  here,  captain." 

There  was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  to  comply  with 
his  suggestion,  and,  making  my  way  forward  to  the  land 
ing  place,  I  sprang  out  of  the  boat  as  gayly  as  I  could  be 
expected  to  do  under  the  circumstances.  No  sooner 
had  my  feet  touched  the  mass  of  floating  sod  than  I  was 
made  acquainted  with  a  new  and  startling  horror.  I 
found  the  mass  of  tangled  herbage  alive  with  crawling 
insects,  upon  which  large  serpents,  that  abounded  in 
great  numbers,  fed. 

The  trees  that  form  a  large  portion  of  this  garbage 
heap  of  the  Atlantic  are  brought  down  from  the  upper 
Amazon  during  the  tremendous  freshets  that  prevail  un 
der  the  equator  and  are  carried  through  from  the  Carib 
bean  Sea  and  the  gulf  to  the  midocean  swirl,  where  they 
reach  their  final  haven.  Their  track  throughout  is  along 
the  current  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  whose  warm  waters  pro 
tect  the  animal  life  that  happens  to  be  upon  the  trees  at 
the  time  they  are  carried  out  to  sea.  I  afterwards  learned 
that  at  one  time  marmosets  from  Brazil  existed  in  coiv 


1  AM  BETRA  YED.  19 

siderable  numbers  in  Sargasso,  but  the  large  serpents 
finally  had  exterminated  them.  I  always  had  had  a  hor 
ror  of  snakes  and  lizards,  and  I  therefore  made  haste  to 
cross  the  quivering  bog-holes  leading  directly  to  tht 
water  below. 

My  captor  followed,  encouraging  me  and  directing 
me  where  to  step  in  order  to  avoid  mishaps.  For  the 
reason  I  have  named,  I  gladly  sprang  up  the  ladder  that 
had  been  constructed  on  the  side  of  the  ship  as  soon  as  I 
reached  it 

At  the  ship's  side,  as  I  emerged  above  it,  stood  a  man 
of  unusually  strange  appearance.  As  I  soon  came  to 
know  him,  he  was  the  Kantoon  of  the  particular  com 
munal  family  having  its  habitation  on  that  ship.  He  was  60 
years  of  age,  with  a  grizzly  gray  beard,  clipped  or  singed 
to  an  almost  uniform  length  of  three  inches,  that  covered 
his  face.  His  dress  was  made  of  what  I  afterwards  dis 
covered  to  be  sun-tanned  porpoise  skin.  His  cap  was 
of  dark-brown  leather,  that  had  apparently  done  duty  as 
a  cushion  cover.  But  I  experienced  another  surprise 
when,  on  stepping  over  the  gunwale  to  the  deck,  I  found 
that  the  commander  of  the  craft  stood  up  to  his  knees  in 
a  tub  of  water! 

The  old  man  received  me  with  dignified  but  gruff 
courtesy.  His  manner  favorably  impressed  me.  I  reflected 
that,  likely  as  not,  my  companion  was  an  eccentric  fel 
low,  who  thought  to  perpetrate  a  practical  joke  on  me 
oy  pretending  that  he  had  brought  me  to  this  ship  under 
guard  and  by  force,  and  causing  me  to  believe  that  I 
would  be  shot  if  I  disobeyed  him.  My  companion  spoke 
to  the  Kantoon  in  Portuguese,  and,  having  introduced 
me  as  the  captain  of  the  steamship  Caribas,  added: 

"She  is  a  fine  boat,  almost  new,  and  would  make  a 
very  desirable  accession  to  our  community." 

This  was  the  first  suggestion  I  received  of  the  thought 
that  aftenvard  became  a  terrible  reality.  Thus  were 
confirmed  all  my  fears,  and  thus  was  I  madfe  aware  of 


20  MISSING. 

the  cunningly  contrived  conspiracy  by  which  I  had  been 
lured  from  my  ship  in  order  that  she  might  fall  an  easy 
prey,  by  midnight  surprise,  to  the  heartless  Sargassons. 
Nothing  that  had  happened  filled  me  with  such  terror 
as  this  information.  My  mortification  and  danger  were 
enough  to  shatter  the  nerves  of  any  man;  but  when  I 
fully  realized,  as  I  did  within  the  first  half  day  aboard 
my  prison-house,  the  tragic  fate  that  awaited  my  com 
panions,  I  was  beside  myself  with  rage  and  chagrin. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  been  assigned  to  a  small  room  that 
apparently  had  been  prepared  for  me  amidships,  just 
under  the  deck.  It  would  have  been  a  comfortable 
enough  place  in  which  to  have  passed  a  few  days  in  an 
overcrowded  vessel,  but  when  I  discovered  that  it  was 
closed  by  a  heavy  wooden  door,  with  a  strong  bolt  upon 
the  outer  side,  I  understood  that  I  was  virtually  a  pris 
oner,  and  that  at  such  times  as  I  could  not  be  kept  under 
the  strictest  surveillance  I  would  be  locked  up. 

The  furnishings  of  the  small  cabin  consisted  of  a  bunk, 
without  any  bed  coverings,  made  of  woven  grass  cloth 
and  stuffed  with  a  pulpy  seaweed  that  resembled  the  ma 
terial  from  which  our  tapioca  of  commerce  is  made.  I 
afterward  found  this  bed  comfortable  enough,  and,  had 
it  not  been  that  I  was  a  prisoner,  my  quarters  would  have 
been  quite  endurable.  Strangely  enough,  one  or  two 
rude  pictures  adorned  the  walls.  They  were  either  carv 
ings  in  wood  or  had  been  burned  into  the  oak  partitions 
with  a  hot  iron  years  before  the  ship  became  a  derelict. 
Each  carving  or  picture  was  evidently  by  a  different 
hand,  and  one  of  them,  in  my  opinion,  possessed  consid 
erable  merit.  They  reminded  me  of  the  drawings  and 
carvings  upon  the  walls  of  the  Towef  of  London  in  the 
cells  of  the  condemned. 

They  added  another  chill  to  my  already  drooping 
spirits,  and  I  concluded  that  escape  from  these  unnatural 
human  monsters  would  b@  difficult, 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SEA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    PEOPLE    OP  THE   SEA. 

During  the  first  afternoon  I  was  allowed  on  deck  for 
exercise  I  encountered  my  former  companion,  the  pre 
tended  artist.  He  had  laid  away  his  store  clothes,  and 
was  dressed  in  the  garb  of  his  adopted  people.  His  feet 
were  bare,  and  his  knee  breeches  and  jacket  were  made 
of  shark's  skin.  His  coat  was  laced  together  up  the  front 
like  shoes,  and  fitted  him.  tightly.  His  youthful  face  and 
long,  curly,  brown  hair,  combined  with  his  costume,  gave 
him  a  bizarre  and  interesting  look. 

I  strode  at  once  to  his  side  and  upbraided  him  in 
good  Flatbush  English  for  his  contemptible  treachery. 
He  evinced  neither  regret  nor  humiliation,  but  smiled  sar 
castically  and  replied: 

"We  must  grow.  Take  my  advice  and  make  the  best 
of  a  mishap  that  might  have  come  to  any  man  who*pos- 
sessed  the  average  amount  of  curiosity.  In  a  few  days 
we  shall  have  your  ship  and  most  of  your  officers  and 
crew  under  our  control,  and  if  you  really  think  you  will 
be  lonely  among  us,  our  Chief  Kantoon  will  make  you 
the  master  of  your  own  ship — after  destroying  her  en 
gines,  of  course,  and  twisting,  off  her  propeller,  so  that 
she  can  never  escape  from  us." 

"You  mean  to  tfell  me,  then,  to  my  face),"  I  hissed,  "that 
your  voyage  with  me  was  simply  part  of  the  scheme  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  Caribas,  and  that  you  intend  to 
add  her  to  your  infamous  aggregation?" 


22  MISSING. 

Far  from  being  displeased  with  my  ferocity,  the  young 
man  appeared  to  be  delighted. 

"You  will  be  able  to  restrain  your  feelings  before  long. 
Life  here  is  not  so  bad  as  you  think.  You  will  find  our 
government  a  rigid  but  not  a  burdensome  one.  Our 
taxes  are  light  and  our  social  obligations  are  few." 

"What  is  to  become  of  my  crew?"  I  demanded,  still 
chafing  with  rage. 

"That  is  a  matter  that  will  have  to  be  left  entirely  to 
the  Chief  Kantoon,  who  dwells  upon  a  ship  at  a  distance 
from  here,  in  the  interior  of  his  floating  nation.  Some 
time  is  required  to  reach  his  sacred  community  in  a  small 
boat.  It  is  a  very  tortuous  and  laborious  trip  to  make, 
through  an  intricate  network  of  small  canals,  an  inland 
sea,  like  that  of  Japan,  at  the  further  side  of  which  is 
moored  his  floating  palace.  Good  Sargasson  command 
ers  visit  him  once  a  year.  I  have  never  looked  upon  his 
face  but  once.  I  am  only  a  child  of  this  people.  I  have 
been  among  them  for  five  years.  I  was  making  a  voyage 
from  Bermuda  to  the  Canary  Islands  in  a  schooner.  I 
was  taken  ill  with  smallpox.  The  heartless  captain  put 
me  in  a  small  boat  and  set  me  adrift.  I  became  deliri 
ous,  then  unconscious,  and  after  several  days  was  picked 
up  by  the  Sargassons,  nursed  back  to  life,  and  have  been 
their  willing  slave  ever  since.  I  owe  my  life  to  them." 

"But  what  is  to  become  of  my  officers  and  crew?"  I 
demanded. 

Gray's  manner  changed  entirely,  and  I  had  no  occa 
sion  to  complain  of  his  frankness. 

"Those  taken  alive,"  he  began,  "will  be  given  the  al 
ternative  of  assisting  in  the  navigation  of  the  ship  to  this 
neighborhood,  after  which  they  must  join  our  commu 
nity,  or  suffer  'the  mercy  of  extinction.'  With  the  Sar 
gassons  there  is  only  one  way  of  insuring  themselves 
against  the  vindictiveness  of  the  world.  Nobody  is  ever 
allowed  to  escape  from  here.  Yes,  I  know  what  you  are 
thinking.  You  are  about  to  retort  that  I  was  allowed 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SEA.  23 

to  revisit  the  United  States.  You  are  right  in  suggesting 
an  explanation  of  my  conduct" 

"I  certainly  would  like  to  know  how  you  came  to  be 
sent  to  the  United  States  to  involve  me  in  this  terrible 
misfortune,"  I  interrupted,  with  as  much  scorn  as  I  could 
put  into  my  voice.  "I  would  not  believe  anything  you 
may  tell  me,  however.  You  are  certainly  a  contemptible 
fellow,  and  I  am  surprised  that  even  the  'Sargassons,'  as 
you  call  them,  could  be  induced  to  repose  any  confidence 
in  you." 

Without  noticing  my  contemptuous  language,  Gray 
continued:  "It  was  not  until  I  had  been  put  to  the  su 
preme  test,  which  you  will  some  day  understand,  that  I 
was  permitted  to  return  to  the  United  States.  I  went 
only  after  taking  the  most  solemn  and  sacred  oath  that 
can  be  administered  to  a  mortal.  Besides,  you  must  re 
member  that  I  really  owe  my  life  to  these  people.  They 
rescued  me  from  inevitable  death  after  my  own  country 
men,  who  were  followers  of  my  own  religion  and  supposed 
to  possess  all  the  humanity  that  it  inculcates,  had  aban 
doned  me  to  the  sea  in  a  heartless  and  disgraceful  man 
ner.  Their  conduct  to  me  on  this  occasion  would  have 
been  sufficient,  did  nothing  else  draw  me  to  this  strange 
race,  to  link  my  fortune  to  theirs.  I  am  a  Sargasson, 
now,  before  everything  else  in  the  world.  I  have  for 
sworn  my  country,  my  mother,  my  friendships;  and  my 
fidelity  to  the  people  of  the  Floating  Continent  could  not 
be  shaken  by  any  blandishment  or  threats.  You  will 
some  day,  perhaps,  understand  what  these  ties  are  that 
attach  me  so  strongly  to  a  life  that  is  unnatural  and, 
until  one  is  inured  to  it,  uncomfortable.  I  sincerely  hope 
that  the  time  may  come  speedily  when  you  will  be  fully 
reconciled  to  your  destiny,  and  even  experience  emo 
tions  of  gratitude  to  me  for  having  been  an  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  The  Grand  Kantoon — who  rules  the  sea, 
and  the  air,  and  whose  missionary  I  was.  At  present  I 
am  sorry  for  you,  because  I  know  how  wretchedly  you 


U 

feel.  I  am  sorry  tof  your  friends  and  family  at  home, 
who  will  sorrow  for  you.  But  there  are  worse  fates  than 
yours.  The  span  of  life  among  us  here  is  reasonably 
long.  You  possess  a  constitution  of  iron  that  has  grown 
sturdy  under  stress  of  heavy  weather,  unremitting  toil 
and  unrequited  zeal.  Here  your  ability  and  your  cour 
age  will  find  recognition,  and  no  honor  in  the  gift  of  the 
Sargassons  is  beyond  your  reach.  Be  advised,  therefore, 
by  me,  the  apparent  cause  of  your  present  condition,  and 
accept  the  inevitable,  just  as  we  all  accept  unwilling  life 
at  birth,  and  just  as  you  must  accept  the  inevitable  fate 
of  man,  death." 

To  say  that  I  was  not  impressed  by  the  manner  and 
the  remarkable  words  of  this  glib  rascal  would  be  untrue. 
I  turned  upon  my  heel  and  left  him. 

Darkness  set  in,  but,  as  I  looked  out  over  that  strange 
assemblage  of  silent,  swaying  hulks,  I  nowhere  saw  a 
single  light  to  cheer  my  eyes.  Darkness  was  a  delight 
to  the  Sargassons.  I  would  have  found  companionship 
in  a  beacon  or  torch;  but  even  that  poor  comfort  was 
denied  me.  I  was  conducted  to  my  prison  cell,  for  such 
it  was,  and  was  locked  up  for  the  night. 

I  threw  myself  upon  the  bunk  in  the  vain  hope  of 
being  able  to  sleep,  but  for  hours  that  boon  was  denied  me. 
My  heart  was  equally  divided  between  my  family  at  home 
and  the  crew  of  the  good  ship  Caribas,  that  less  than  fifty 
miles  distant  was  keeping  its  watch  over  my  vessel,  un 
conscious  of  impending  danger.  I  condemned  myself  a 
thousand  times  from  every  imaginable  point  of  view  for 
my  foolhardiness  in  accompanying  a  stranger  on  such  a 
hazardous  and  unnecessary  expedition.  I  conjured  up 
in  my  mind  a  score  of  ways  by  which  I  could  communi 
cate  with  the  first  mate  of  my  ship  and  apprise  him  of 
the  mysterious  and  unexpected  dangers  that  beset  him. 
But  all  such  plans  had  to  be  rejected. 

With  an  aching  heart,  I  finally  fell  into  an  uneasy 
slumber,  filled  with  frightful  dreams,  in  which  death  ap 
peared  in  every  imaginable  and  terrible  form. 


SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  25 


CHAPTER  V. 

SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

I  was  awakened  at  sunrise  by  the  sailor  who  had  at 
tended  me  before.  He  brought  me  a  tin  cup  filled  with 
a  thick,  brown  decoction,  intended  to  serve  the  purpose 
of  coffee,  and  two  biscuits  from  the  store  of  supplies  we 
had  brought  in  the  launch. 

The  drink  was  not  palatable,  but  I  soon  discovered 
that  it  had  a  very  exhilarating  effect  upon  my  system, 
and  I  afterward  learned  that  it  was  made  from  the  leaves 
and  twigs  of  a  small  parasitic  plant  that  grew  upon  the 
water  and  upon  branches  of  the  floating  trees.  It  proba 
bly  came  from  Brazil  originally,  but  it  was  very  prolific, 
and  spread  over  a  wide  area  of  the  Sargasson  sod. 

The  Sargasson s  were  scrupulously  honest  Every 
thing  that  I  had  contributed  to  the  outfit  of  the  launch, 
even  to  the  smallest  biscuit,  was  reserved  for  me.  It  was 
very  fortunate  that  such  was  the  case;  otherwise,  I  do  not 
think  I  would  have  survived  the  first  few  days,  before  I 
became  accustomed  to  the  peculiar  food  of  this  people. 

As  soon  as  I  had  drunk  the  coffee,  or  tea,  my  com 
panion  in  the  launch  called  to  pay  his  respects.  He 
opened  the  door  of  my  prison  cell  with  his  own  hands, 
and  invited  me  to  step  out  into  the  fresh  air. 

As  I  stood  beside  him  I  could  scarcely  control  the 
rage  I  felt  toward  the  fellow.  I  saw  how  slender  and  in 
significant  he  was  compared  with  me,  and  I  could  have 
strangled  him  in  his  tracks.  He  doubtless  divined  the 


'26  MISSING. 

thought  itt  my  mind,  and  took  an  early  opportunity  to  ap 
prise  me  that  the  punishment  for  murder  among  the  Sar- 
gassons  was  drowning  in  a  horrible  form.  Half  a  doz^n 
strong  men  would  seize  the  murderer  and  crowd  him  head 
foremost  into  a  barrel  of  water,  holding  him  there,  despite 
his  struggles,  until  he  slowly  suffocated. 

After  a  few  turns  up  and  down  the  deck,  we  were 
waited  upon  by  the  attendant  sailor,  and  I  was  informed 
that  I  was  to  have  an  audience  with  the  Kantoon,  or 
commander,  of  the  vessel.  He  made  his  habitation  in 
the  captain's  cabin;  but  I  was  instructed  that  he  "would 
be  visible"  upon  the  upper  deck,  astern,  over  his  cabin, 
and  that  I  might  approach  him  there. 

My  companion  cautioned  me  especially  against  any 
exhibition  of  temper.  He  declared  that  anger  was  ut 
terly  unrecognized  among  the  Sargassons,  and  if  I  ex 
hibited  any  ferocity,  it  would  probably  be  mistaken  for 
madness,  and  I  would  forthwith  be  drowned  without  cere 
mony  or  hope  of  intervention  on  anybody's  part. 

So  cautioned,  I  climbed  the  ladder  and  passed  behind 
a  screen  of  flowering  plants.  These  grew  luxuriantly  in 
a  row  of  boxes  that  resembled  gun  cases.  The  earth  in 
which  they  grew  had  been  brought  from  the  hold,  where 
it  had  been  placed  for  ballast  in  some  far-away  port. 

In  the  centre  of  the  deck,  standing  in  a  barrel  of  wa 
ter,  was  the  Kantoon.  His  grizzly  gray  beard  was  care 
fully  trimmed,  and  his  leather  cap  rested  upon  his  head  in 
a  jaunty  fashion.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  large  telescope, 
with  which,  when  I  approached  him,  he  was  scanning  the 
distant  horizon.  I  divined  instantly  that  he  was  looking 
in  the  direction  of  the  Caribas ;  for,  with  the  naked  eye,  I 
was  able  to  detect  the  presence  of  smoke  in  the  western 
sky. 

I  experienced  a  genuine  emotion  of  hope.  If  my  offi 
cers  and  crew  only  had  sense  enough  to  get  up  steam, 
go  to  sea  and  abandon  me,  I  would  be  glad.  There 
would  remain  some  hope  of  rescue,  and  I  would  not  suf- 


SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  27 

fer  the  humiliation  of  having  my  ship  fall  into  the  hands 
of  a  class  of  pirates  more  heartless  than  any  I  had  ever 
read  about. 

At  this  instant  the  Kantoon  turned,  and,  seeing  me, 
said,  with  a  grimace  that  was  filled  with  chimpanzinity: 

"Morning,  Senor  Captaine.  Es  usted  very  good, 
aujourd'hui?  Sitzen  sie  down." 

"I  thank  you,  captain,  but  I  prefer  to  stand,"  was  my 
snappish  reply. 

"No  me  burla!"  the  Kantoon  exclaimed,  in  an  ill-tem 
pered  voice,  despite  the  statement  of  my  instructor  to 
the  contrary.  "Quando,  I  say,  'Sitzen  sie;'  you  squat!" 

"But,  captain" 

"lo  sono  the  Kantoon  de  cette  ship." 

"But,  Kantoon,  I  see  no  chair  upon  which  to  be 
seated." 

"Quel  difference?     Sit  upon  the  deck." 

I  seated  myself  as  gracefully  as  possible  upon  the 
damp  planks,  curling  my  feet  under  me,  a  la  Turc,  and  for 
more  than  an  hour  the  Kantoon  and  I  conversed  upon 
general  subjects  relating  to  the  sea. 

He  adhered  to  his  horribly  incongruous  polyglot  lan 
guage.  So  far  as  I  could  make  out,  he  actually  spoke 
no  one  language  with  even  a  show  of  correctness,  but 
his  vocabulary  of  phrases  and  words  from  the  Continental 
languages  and  English  was  enormous.  There  was  hardly 
any  thought  that  he  could  not  express  clearly  in  that  way. 
A  keen  ear  and  ready  mind  were  required  to  follow  him. 

Above,  I  have  indicated  in  a  few  brief  sentences  his 
mode  of  speech.  The  Kantoon  never  hesitated  a  mo 
ment  for  a  word.  He  selected  them  with  reference  to 
the  context.  Gender,  conjugation  and  declension  were 
things  utterly  unknown  to  his  system  of  grammar.  I 
icon  discovered  that  he  knew  more  Portuguese  and  Span 
ish  than  any  of  the  other  languages,  and  accounted  for 
that  on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  associated  with 
Spanish  sailors  more  than  any  others. 


K  MISSING. 

After  a  little  time,  I  grew  to  a  better  understanding  of 
the  polyglot  language.  I  recollected  that  I  had  attended 
a  performance  of  the  great  Salvini  in  New  York,  in  which 
I  had  heard  "Hamlet"  rendered  in  very  much  the  same 
fashion  as  the  Kantoon  spoke  to  me.  The  members  of  the 
cast  associated  with  the  distinguished  Italian  tragedian 
knew  only  the  English  tongue,  while  Salvini  spoke  in 
Italian.  It  seemed  a  trifle  incongruous  to  me,  in  far 
away  New  York,  to  hear  Hamlet  give  the  "Instructions 
to  the  Players"  in  sonorous  Italian — a  language  they  did 
not  understand.  No  experience  is  wasted  in  this  world, 
and  the  recollection  of  that  season  of  Anglo-Italian  trag- 
edly  prepared  me  for  conversation  on  the  Happy  Shark. 

The  Kantoon  then  proceeded  to  explain  to  me  at  great 
length  the  organization  of  the  ship.  Early  in  the  inter 
view  he  was  kind  enough  to  announce  to  me  that  when 
I  had  become  tractable  enough  and  thoroughly  recon 
ciled  to  being  grafted  upon  the  Sargasson  family  tree, 
he  would  give  me  a  station  on  board  ship  and  an  attend 
ant  to  wait  upon  me. 

This  was  encouraging,  but  I  could  not  drive  from  my 
mind  the  fate  of  my  crew  and  the  terrible  calamity  that 
overshadowed  my  ship.  Therefore,  I  fear  I  did  not  listen 
as  attentively  as  I  should  have  done  to  the  ethical  history 
of  the  Sargassons,  shuddering  meanwhile  at  the  thought 
that  I  would  have  plenty  of  time  in  which  to  make  this 
study  for  myself. 

I  did,  however,  pay  sufficient  attention  to  glean  the 
following  brief  outline  of  the  Kantoon's  narrative : 

The  Sargasson  people  date  back  more  than  three  hun 
dred  years,  the  Kantoon  explained.  He  believed  that 
they  had  their  origin  in  the  loss  of  the  Spanish  Armada, 
when  many  of  the  great  galleons,  escaping  the  destruc 
tion  that  England  intended  for  all,  put  to  sea  in  a  disa 
bled  condition,  intending  to  go  to  the  Spanish  possessions 
in  America,  refit,  and  return  laden  with  stores.  They 
were  caught  in  the  Central  Atlantic  whirlpool  and  never 


SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  29 

could  make  their  escape.  The  navigation  of  the  sea  at 
that  time  was  very  poorly  understood,  and  many  ships 
that  left  port  with  chivalrous  ambitions  landed  in  the 
Seaweed  Sea,  never  to  escape. 

The  Sargassons  became  a  hardy  race,  growing  in 
numbers  by  the  accessions  of  new  ships;  but  they  did  not 
assume  the  features  of  a  social  community  until,  early  in 
the  present  century,  a  slave  ship  containing  several  hun 
dred  Africans — who  had  mutinied  under  the  leadership 
of  a  former  chief  and,  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
mariner's  compass,  had  sailed  almost  into  the  heart  of 
the  Sargasson  continent,  bringing  remnants  of  their  fam 
ilies  with  them — swelled  the  population.  The  negro 
women  who  came  in  that  ship  intermarried  with  the 
Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  developing  in  time  a  race 
quite  similar  to  the  lower  types  of  the  Mexican  and  Cen 
tral  American  peoples. 

Wars  had  followed  among  them  for  the  possession  of 
the  Sacred  Light  and  for  the  establishment  of  certain 
holy  days.  While  they  had  no  religion,  as  we  under 
stand  it,  they  believed  in  a  divine  creator,  called  the 
Grand  Kantoon,  who  ruled  the  sea  and  the  sky.  But, 
naturally,  all  tradition  of  the  existence  of  dry  land  had 
vanished,  and  as  one  after  another  ships  sank  from 
decay  or  the  overloading  of  barnacles,  the  Sargassons 
captured  others  in  the  possession  of  the  different  races, 
heartlessly  destroying  every  Vestige  of  the  preceding! 
community. 

The  life  of  a  ship  was  found  to  be  about  fifty  years. 

These  bloody  encounters  were  crowded  with  horrors 
of  the  most  indescribable  character.  The  natural  fear  of 
death  originally  had  inspired  the  most  desperate  attack 
and  most  stubborn  defense.  As  no  one  knew  at  what 
hour  a  neighboring  craft  might  show  signs  of  dissolu 
tion,  it  behooved  the  commander  of  each  vessel  to  be 
always  on  guard,  ever  alert  to  repel  surprise.  Mutiny, 
was  of  rare  occurrence.  United  by  the  tie  of  mutual 


30  MISSING. 

hopelessness,  every  member  of  each  ship's  company  knew 
his  only  safety  lay  in  union  and  fidelity  to  its  other  mem 
bers. 

During  the  last  fifty  years,  the  Kantoon  explained,  a 
pathetic  and  charming  philosophy  had  prevailed  among 
the  people  of  the  floating  continent  It  was  regarded  as 
a  matter  of  social  ethics  that  the  fate  of  each  ship's  com 
pany  was  identified  with  the  life  of  its  own  craft;  that 
the  intrusion  of  strangers  from  other  vessels  was  neither 
sought  nor  permitted;  that  there  should  be  no  sort  of 
intercourse  between  the  people  of  the  various  ships,  ex 
cept  on  the  few  sacred  days  in  each  year. 

When  the  Kantoon  of  a  ship  was  informed  that  his 
vessel  was  gradually  filling  with  water,  and  that  all  efforts 
to  stop  the  leak  or  save  the  hulk  were  fruitless,  it  became 
his  grave  duty  to  call  together  the  community  over  which 
he  presided,  and,  while  they  sang  the  death  chant,  to  go  to 
the  realms  of  a  future  life  with  resignation. 

This  religious  idea  solved  a  great  many  problems  in 
ethics  that  had  previously  given  trouble  among  the  Sar- 
gassons.  It  was  especially  sad  to  the  young  generation ; 
but  the  children  accepted  their  fate  with  the  same  stolid 
indifference  as  the  grown  people.  Of  course,  it  often 
happened  that  a  young  girl  or  a  sturdy  lad,  whose  vitality 
was  great,  rebelled  at  the  Draconian  law;  but,  as  escape 
v/as  impossible,  they  rarely  evinced  any  outward  signs 
of  their  rebellious  spirits.  If  they  did,  they  were  seized 
by  subordinates  of  the  ship,  on  the  order  of  the  Kan 
toon,  and  with  a  few  yards  of  seagrass  rope  were  firmly 
lashed  to  some  part  of  the  ship,  or  to  the  heaviest  article 
that  could  be  found  on  board.  They  then  suffered  the 
humiliation  of  having  exposed  their  weakness.  In  case 
the  vessel  did  not  sink  as  soon  as  was  expected,  the  fet 
tered  prisoners  were  permitted  to  die  of  starvation.  There 
was  no  hope  of  pardon.  If,  by  any  chance,  the  leak  were 
repaired,  they  were  tossed  into  the  sea,  bound  hand  and 
foot,  and  became  a  prey  to  the  sharks. 


^     SARGASSON  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  81 

In  a  general  way,  the  Kantoon,  who  had  already 
taken  a  serious  interest  in  my  future,  explained  the  origin 
and  forms  of  the  sacred  ceremonies  of  his  people.  These 
will  be  dwelt  upon  in  their  place  in  the  narrative. 

Finally,  motioning  me  to  rise,  the  Kantoon  clambered 
out  of  his  official  barrel  of  water  and  strode  away  to  his 
cabin,  without  the  formality  of  saying  good-bye.  I  re 
turned  to  prison  of  my  own  accord,  and,  the  door  being 
open,  I  pulled  it  shut. 

I  wished  to  be  alone  with  my  remorse. 

I  can  say  truthfully  that,  after  this  long  conversation 
with  the  Kantoon,  I  felt  more  unhappy,  more  dissatisfied 
with  my  fate  than  before.  I  was  so  irrational  and  ill 
tempered  that  I  berated  all  so-called  explorers  of  the  sea, 
like  Cook,  Magellan,  Sir  John  Franklin,  Sir  Francis 
Drake  and  others,  who  only  skimmed  around  the  edges 
of  the  Atlantic  and  never  penetrated  this  wilderness  of 
water  and  grass,  where  they  might  have  discovered  some 
thing  that  would  have  been  of  interest  and  value  to  the 
world — that,  too,  after  Columbus  had  discovered,  located 
and  named  it  for  them! 

When  I  thought  of  all  the  millions  of  treasure  and 
the  precious  lives  that  had  been  wasted  in  the  attempted 
and  futile  explorations  of  the  Arctic  regions,  I  felt  that 
money  and  human  life  had  been  wantonly  thrown  away. 

In  this  wretched  state  of  mind  I  remained  all  the  rest 
of  the  day.  I  have  forgotten  whether  I  was  fed  or  not. 

As  darkness  fell  again  upon  the  heaving  meadows,  I 
incidentally  overheard  a  conversation  just  outside  my 
door  between  two  members  of  the  ship's  company  that 
threw  me  into  an  agony  of  mind.  One  of  the  men  spoke 
Spanish  and  the  other  French,  but  I  readily  understood 
them.  The  purport  of  their  conversation  was  that  the 
Caribas  was  to  be  taken  by  surprise  that  night  and  its 
officers  and  crew  captured  and  destroyed. 

No  possibility  existed  of  giving  warning  to  my  faith 
ful  fellows.  The  thought  did  suggest  itself  that  I  could 


32  MISSING. 

possibly  escape  from  my  prison,  secure  one  of  the  boats 
and  reach  the  Caribas  before  the  invaders.  In  my  jour 
neys  around  the  ship,  however,  I  had  not  seen  any  signs 
of  small  craft.  To  avoid  any  possibility  of  escape,  my 
companion,  Gray,  had  sent  the  Secor  launch  he  owned 
to  another  part  of  the  community — I  knew  not  where. 

In  vain  did  I  attempt  to  release  myself  from  my  prison 
cell,  but  I  found  that,  in  closing  the  door,  the  bolt  had 
fallen  on  the  outside,  securely  locking,  me  in.  Loud  calls 
for  my  former  companion,  the  cause  of  all  my  misery, 
and  for  the  Kantoon  himself,  received  no  attention.  My 
presence  on  the  ship  was  ignored,  and  the  silence 
throughout  the  entire  vessel  was  ominous. 

How  I  prayed  for  moonlight!  I  hoped  that  the  ap 
proach  of  the  pirates  might  be  detected  by  at  least  one 
watchful  man  in  my  ship's  company;  but  the  sky  over 
head  was  full  of  clouds,  and  soon  became  as  black  as  ir.k. 

A  heavy  mist  began  to  fall,  and  every  condition 
seemed  excellent  for  a  night  attack  on  the  ill-fated  Cari 
bas. 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS.  33 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ATTACK   ON   THE  CARIBAS. 

What  worried  me  most,  as  I  chafed  under  the  restraint 
of  my  narrow  quarters  was  the  silence  that  everywhere 
existed.  Even  aboard  the  Happy  Shark,  where  I  waa 
in  prison,  not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard  that  night.  And 
yet  I  knew  that  the  old  hulk  teemed  with  human  life,  and 
that  active  preparations  were  going  on  throughout  the 
entire  community  for  an  attack  upon  my  steamer  that 
meant  death  to  her  officers  and  crew. 

There  was  I,  like  a  rat  caught  in  a  trap,  unable  to  aid 
or  give  warning. 

As  before  stated,  the  front  of  my  cell  was  upon  the 
main  deck  and  faced  a  hatchway.  Through  the  grated 
door  of  my  prison  I  could  see  the  sky,  and  I  was  sud 
denly  made  conscious  of  the  fact  that  a  bright  red  light 
had  appeared  to  the  southward. 

Any  man  who  has  followed  the  sea  for  half  his  life,  as 
I  have,  never  fails  to  assure  himself  on  the  points  of  the 
compass.  The  first  fair  day  in  which  the  sun  can  be 
seen  to  rise  and  set  will  givd  him  the  data  from  which 
he  can  take  his  bearings  in  the  absence  of  a  compass. 

This  strange  light  that  I  saw  far  away  to  the  south 
ward  took  the  form  of  an  immense  red  ball,  far  up  in  the 
clouds.  I  did  not  know  then,  though  I  learned  after 
ward,  that  this  is  what  is  known  among  the  Sargassons 
as  "The  Sacred  Fire." 

As  may  be  readily  understood,  the  keeping  of  fire 


34  MISSING. 

aboard  all  the  vessels  would  be  impossible.  Therefore, 
the  use  of  fire  is  confined  exclusively  to  one  great  iron 
hulk,  from  which  everything  inflammable  has  been  re 
moved,  and  which  is  moored  far  apart  from  the  rest  of 
the  floating  ships.  The  cooking  for  the  entire  com 
munity  is  done  there,  and  once  a  month  a  crew  from  each 
cantonment  makes  a  journey  to  procure  a  store  of  the 
supplies  that  are  gathered  and  held  in  common. 

No  office  among  the  Sargasson  people  is  more  highly 
honored  than  that  of  the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  flame  never  dies  out.  There 
have  been  years,  I  am  told,  when  neither  matches  nor 
flints  were  procurable,  and  when  the  extinction  of  the 
fire  would  have  meant  suffering  and  death  to  the  entire 
population. 

The  Priest  who  is  held  responsible  for  the  mainte 
nance  of  this  flame  gives  his  life  as  a  bond. 

So  great  is  his  authority  that  he  can  command  the 
Kantoon  of  any  ship  to  furnish  fuel,  and,  in  emergency, 
assistance  in  keeping  the  fire  aglow. 

Twenty  years  before  my  capture,  a  derelict  had 
drifted  into  the  clutches  of  the  Sargassons  that  contained 
a  complete  railroad  locomotive.  The  parts  of  its  engine 
were  transferred,  after  great  labor,  to  the  iron  hulk  re 
ferred  to.  The  locomotive's  headlight,  into  the  back  of 
which  a  magnifying  glass  of  strong  intensity  had  been 
fitted,  was  placed  over  the  glowing  embers  of  the  Sacred 
Fire,  and  threw  a  pillar  of  red  light  miles  into  the  sky. 
On  this  night  in  question  the  rays  from  the  reflector  en 
countered  a  heavy  cloud  bank  that  hung  high  over  the 
water,  and  combined  in  a  red,  spectral  ember  in  the  sky. 

I  then  remembered  that  sailors  had  often  spoken  of 
a  mysterious  light  that  hovered  over  the  Sargasso  Sea; 
but  if  I  had  believed  the  stories  I  had  accounted  for  th.£ 
balls  of  fire  as  belonging  to  those  strange  natural  phe 
nomena  described  as  "Will-o'-the-Wisp,"  and  associated 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS.  35 

with  damp  meadows  filled  with  decayed  vegetable  mat 
ter. 

On  this  night,  however,  I  fully  understood  the  pur 
port  of  the  terrifying  blood-red  blotch  in  the  sky! 

I  knew,  instinctively,  that  it  was  a  signal  to  the 
Sargassons  to  assemble  at  some  point  for  the  purpose 
of  capturing  the  Caribas. 

I  felt  the  jar  of  footsteps  on  deck;  but  as  shoes  and 
boots  were  unknown,  little  noise  was  made  by  the  stealthy 
tread  of  the  ship's  crew.  I  could  hear  lines  of  men  as 
cending  and  descending  the  ladders  not  far  from  me,  and 
I  realized  fully  that  the  boats  were  being  equipped. 

In  order  to  properly  describe  the  events  that  oc 
curred  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours  it  will  be  neces 
sary  for  me  to  rely  upon  information  secured  afterward 
from  various  sources. 

I  was  not  permitted  to  witness  the  attack  upon  my 
own  ship,  and  for  days  all  information  regarding  the  ter 
rible  event  was  carefully  kept  from  me.  This  was  not 
jkme  to  lessen  my  mental  sufferings.  I  can  easily  imag 
ine  that  I  was  forgotten  in  the  excitement,  and  probably 
I  would  have  starved  to  death  had  it  not  been  for  the 
thoughtfulness  of  some  one  who  during  each  night  placed 
under  my  door  a  wicker  dish  of  boiled  seaweed,  accompa 
nied  by  two  or  more  biscuits  from  the  remainder  of  the 
scanty  store  brought  by  me  in  the  launch.  This  was  very 
little  food  for  a  hearty  man,  but  I  was  grateful  for  the  at 
tention. 

Although  I  had  not  seen  any  evidences  of  woman 
kind  about  the  ship,  I  instinctively  divined  femininity  in 
this  thoughtfulne-;s.  I  detected,  in  the  neat  way  the  food 
was  arranged  upon  the  small  piece  of  matting,  the  hand 
of  a  woman.  I  saw  in  the  act  more  than  mere  perfunc 
tory  duty. 

I  felt  that  I  had  a  friend  on  board  the  ship,  all  the 
more  precious  because  unknown. 

In  my  loneliness  I  gave  myself  up  utterly  to  despair. 


SC  MISSING. 

Without  hope,  without  companionship,  and,  above  all, 
without  news  regarding  the  result  of  the  expedition  that 
had  been  sent  against  the  Caribas;  weakened  by  poor 
food  and  driven  to  semi-madness  by  want  of  care,  I 
passed  as  much  of  my  time  as  possible  in  troubled  sleep, 
in  which  I  dreamed  dreams  and  saw  visions.  I  suffered 
a  great  deal  from  thirst,  also,  because  the  water  with 
which  I  was  supplied  was  evidently  the  product  of  the 
rainstorms,  with  an  occasional  ration  of  distilled  water, 
brought,  as  I  aftenvard  ascertained,  from  the  ship  on 
which  was  the  boiler  of  the  old  locomotive. 

The  water  supply  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  prob 
lems  to  the  Sargassons.  Fortunately,  rains  wrere  fre 
quent  and  the  seasons  of  drought  far  apart.  But  there 
were  times  when  the  consumption  of  an  extra  pint  of 
the  fluid  aboard  each  ship  in  one  day  would  have  meant 
suffering  for  weeks.  The  Kantoon  of  each  vessel  always 
kept  the  water  butt  in  his  own  cabin,  and  guarded  it 
more  carefully  than  any  of  his  other  possessions. 

On  the  fifth  day  after  my  capture  the  Kantoon  of 
the  Happy  Shark  presented  himself  at  the  door  of  my 
prison,  opened  it  with  a  quick  jerk,  and  asked  me  to 
come  out.  I  was  so  weakened  by  my  imprisonment  that 
I  was  slow  to  obey. 

When  I  did  face  him  I  saw  that  a  fillet  of  fresh  sea 
weed  was  bound  about  his  temples,  below  one  corner  of 
which  showed  a  ghastly  wound,  still  fresh  and  bleeding. 

With  a  wave  of  his  hand  he  motioned  me  to  follow 
him  to  the  upper  deck,  where,  recognizing  my  enfeebled 
condition,  he  directed  me,  still  in  the  curious  polyglotic 
language  of  his,  to  seat  myself,  while  he,  as  before, 
climbed  into  his  barrel  of  water.  After  a  few  preliminary 
remarks,  and,  indeed,  a  thoughtful  expression  of  regret 
that  during  the  period  of  excitement  through  which  he 
had  just  passed  my  comfort  had  been1  neglected,  he  told 
me  the  terrible  story  of  the  capture  of  the  Caribas. 

In  a  prefatory  way,  I  may  state  that  the  boats  used 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS.  37 

by  this  strange  people  are  made  of  grass  matting, 
stretched  over  a  light  framework  of  wood  (in  shape  like 
the  birch  bark  canoe  of  the  American  aborigine),  covered 
inside  and  out  with  a  gum  made  of  fish  scales  and 
wholly  impervious  to  water.  Each  boat  will  carry  only 
two  people,  one  in  the  bow  and  one  in  the  stern,  and  is 
propelled  with  paddles  shaped  like  tennis  bats,  strung 
with  thongs  made  from  the  intestines  of  fish,  interlaced 
so  closely  together  as  to  afford  resistance  to  the  water. 
These  boats  are  so  light  that  a  man  can  readily  carry 
one  upon  his  shoulder,  and  so  quick  are  they  in  an 
swering  the  paddle  that  the  little  cockle  shells  can  be 
turned  in  their  own  length.  In  these  the  Sargassons 
surmount  the  heaviest  waves;  but  in  the  canals  of  Sar 
gasso  nothing  rougher  than  an  ocean  swell  ever  exists. 
If  the  sea  runs  "mountain  high"  outside,  its  force  is 
broken  by  the  great  blanket  of  sod  that  for  thousands  of 
miles  rests  upon  its  surface.  So  light  and  buoyant  are 
these  small  canoes,  rarely  exceeding  nine  feet  in  length, 
that  if  one  of  them  is  swamped,  the  two  rowers,  treading 
water  at  the  bow  and  at  the  stern,  lift  the  boat,  bottom 
upward,  above  the  surface,  reverse  it,  and  while  one  of 
the  crew  holds  an  end  of  the  little  craft,  the  other  mem 
ber  climbs  into  his  seat,  and,  paddle  in  hand,  steadies 
the  boat  until  his  companion  resumes  his  place.  The 
Sargassons  have  no  fear  of  an  upset.  Their  paddles  are 
lashed  to  the  canoe  with  long  thongs,  as  are  all  portable 
articles  that  they  carry. 

Having  explained  the  character  of  the  boats  in  which 
the  expedition  set  out,  I  may  now  reproduce,  in  my  own 
words,  the  Kantoon's  narrative: 

The  flashing  of  the  Sacred  Light  in  the  sky — the 
blood-red  spot  under  the  canopy  of  heaven  that  they 
had  been  expecting  since  morning — told  the  Sargassons 
the  will  of  their  Chief.  They  all  understood  that  the 
Congress  of  the  Kantoons  had  decided  that  the  Caribas 
must  be  captured. 


88  MISSING. 

The  ship  was  to  be  literally  overrun  with  men,  fully 
armed;  and,  after  its  capture,  the  Caribas  was  to  be 
added  to  our  commune. 

From  the  treacherous  passenger,  Gray,  who  was  the 
cause  of  all  my  misfortune,  the  exact  number  of  officers 
and  crew  had  been  learned. 

Mercifully  did  death  come  to  those  who  encoun 
tered  it,  cutlass  in  hand,  upon  the  deck  of  the  ship ! 

The  Chief  Kantoon  reviewed  the  fleet  of  small 
boats,  each  having  two  valiant  men,  selected  from  the 
various  ships  for  their  courage  and  fearlessness.  The 
number  of  vessels  represented  was  comparatively  few, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  two  hundred  men  were  supposed 
to  be  amply  sufficient  to  effect  the  capture  of  forty  on  a 
night  so  favorable  to  the  undertaking. 

In  a  clear  voice  the  Chief  Kantoon  gave  directions 
for  the  attack.  He  described  the  route  so  perfectly  that 
nobody  could  go  amiss.  He  divided  the  flotilla  into  two 
wings,  one  of  which  was  to  leave  the  Grand  Canal  through 
a  small  shoot,  and  approach  the  Caribas  from  one  end, 
while  the  other  wing  of  the  attacking  party  would  pro 
ceed  down  the  Canal  and  menace  the  vessel  from  the 
other.  The  plan  was  to  lodge  the  two  hundred  men 
upon  the  abandoned  hulk  to  which  the  Caribas  W33 
moored,  and  to  which  access  could  be  readily  found 
through  its  open  ports.  Having  effected  a  lodgment 
there,  the  Sargassons  would  muster,  and  at  a  signal 
would  swarm  over  the  sides  of  the  vessel  before  the 
crew  of  the  Caribas  had  awakened  to  the  danger  of  the 
situation. 

Each  man  in  the  assaulting  party  was  provided  with 
deadly  weapons. 

But  the  most  serious  thing  they  carried,  because 
unknown  to  the  assailed,  was  a  fine,  impalpable  dust,  car 
ried  in  a  fish  bladder,  which  was  to  be  thrown  in  the 
faces  of  the  crew.  It  is  composed  of  a  species  of  red  pep 
per,  analogous  to  the  Tabasco  berry,  and  is  temporarily 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS.  39 

destructive  to  the  eyesight,  and  especially  noxious  to  the 
nostrils  and  lungs.  With  it  was  blended  a  powerful 
drug,  having  all  the  qualities  of  opium,  extracted  from  a 
fungus,  quite  like  sape,  found  growing  upon  the  water- 
soaked  tree-trunks.  The  almost  instant  effect  of  this 
drug  was  to  produce  unconsciousness.  Blinded  and 
staggering,  the  victims  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the 
attacking  party. 

The  Sargassons  have  a  horror  of  shedding  human 
blood.  They  care  nothing  for  death  themselves,  and 
never  hesitate  to  inflict  it  upon  others.  But  they  dislike 
to  see  blood  flow,  and  prefer  drowning  to  any  other  form 
of  death — a  very  natural  preference,  because  their  whole 
existence  is  associated  with  the  sea. 

In  addition  to  this  terrible  death-dealing  powder, 
with  which  each  member  of  the  attacking  party  was  pro 
vided,  each  man  carried  a  weapon  of  iron  or  steel,  ground 
to  exceeding  sharpness.  Firearms  are  not  in  use  among 
the  Sargassons,  and  the  only  weapon  of  that  kind  in  the 
attacking  party  was  the  Winchester  gun  I  had  carried, 
and  in  which  still  remained  about  half  a  dozen  cartridges. 

After  the  last  word  had  been  spoken  by  the  Chief 
Kantoon,  and  the  members  of  the  storming  party  had 
received  his  injunction  that  no  one  of  them  must  return 
unless  the  prize  was  secured,  the  Kantoon  chief  in  rank 
took  command  and  gave  the  order  to  proceed. 

In  double  column,  almost  half  a  mile  in  length,  the 
boats  set  out  upon  their  journey.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken,  and  so  silently  did  the  boatmen  manipulate 
their  paddles,  not  even  a  ripple  was  heard  above  the 
swash  of  the  ocean  swell.  At  the  head  of  the  double 
column,  by  the  side  of  the  Kantoon  in  command,  was 
Arthur  Gray,  who  was  expected  to  act  as  guide  to  the 
party.  His  was  the  only  boat  that  contained  three  peo 
ple,  he  being  seated  in  the  centre. 

For  some  reason  he  was  an  object  of  suspicion  and 
distrust,  and  the  two  men  in  his  boat  had  received  se- 


40  MISSING. 

cret  instructions,  on  the  first  evidence  of  treachery,  to 
lasso  him,  bind  him  fast,  capsize  the  boat,  and  save 
themselves  by  dragging  their  craft  apart  from  him,  so 
that  he  would  drown. 

The  fifty  miles  were  traversed  in  about  eight  hours, 
the  speed  being  intentionally  slow,  in  order  that  the  men 
should  not  be  fatigued  prior  to  the  moment  of  attack,  at 
which  time  their  best  energies  would  be  required. 

When  the  mouth  of  the  small  canal  was  reached, 
into  which  the  right  division  of  the  attacking  party  was 
to  enter,  a  halt  was  called,  and  the  canoes  assembled  in 
two  great  parks. 

A  boat  was  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre,  and  after  an 
hour's  absence  returned  to  say  the  Caribas  was  still 
moored  to  the  wooden  hulk;  that  absolute  quiet  reigned 
aboard  the  steamer,  and  that  an  approach  could  readily 
be  made  as  planned,  over  the  deck  of  the  derelict. 

I  forgot  to  say  that  attending  each  division  were 
two  canoes,  manned  by  Sargasson  boys.  It  was  their 
duty  to  gather  up  and  look  after  the  boats  when  the 
attacking  party  precipitately  left  them  to  climb  upon 
the  derelict.  At  the  bow  of  each  canoe  was  a  long 
painter  of  sea-grass  rope,  which  it  was  expected  would 
be  made  fast  to  some  object  on  the  side  of  the  ship,  so 
as  to  retain  the  boat,  but  in  case  the  canoes  became  de 
tached,  it  would  be  the  task  of  the  attending  canoe  boys 
to  chase  it  up  and  take  charge  of  it. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  after  the  two  divisions  had 
separated  in  the  Grand  Canal,  they  had  reassembled  to 
the  leeward  of  the  great  floating  hulk  to  which  the 
Caribas  was  made  fast.  The  thick  rope  fenders  that  had 
been  placed  between  the  iron  ship  and  the  barnacle-cov 
ered  hulk  gave  out  a  plaintive,  wailing  sound  that  would 
have  fallen  upon  superstitious  ears  with  dire  effect. 

The  presence  of  the  attacking  party  had  net  been 
suspected  aboard  the  Caribas,  for  no  sounds  were  heard 
except  the  tread  of  the  officer  on  the  bridge.  The  fires 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CARIBAS.  41 

under  the  boilers  had  evidently  been  banked  for  almost 
twenty-four  hours,  and  were  very  low.  Scarcely  any 
smoke  escaped  from  the  funnels,  and  no  steam  what 
ever. 

The  great  iron  ship,  therefore,  was  as  helpless  as  a 
log.  As  before  stated,  the  wooden  hulk  of  the  dismasted 
full-rigged  ship  had  listed  to  starboard  about  twenty-five 
degrees,  owing  to  the  shifting  of  its  ballast.  Instructions 
to  the  Sargasson  assaulting  party  was  that  each  boat's 
crew  should  in  turn  take  its  place  upon  the  side  of  the 
vessel,  each  man  holding  on  by  the  barnacles,  and  by 
the  seams  between  the  planks  until  the  signal  for  the  as 
sault  was  given.  This  was  the  sounding  of  the  Caribas' 
own  bell,  which,  as  every  sailor  knows,  occurs  at  each 
half  hour. 

Seven  bells  had  sounded  on  board  the  Caribas  as  the 
boarding  party  silently  approached,  and  the  officer  of  the 
watch  had  been  heard  to  call  out,  "All  is  well!" 

Every  member  of  the  attacking  party  had  effected 
lodgment  upon  the  upturned  side  of  the  great  wooden 
hulk. 

The  boats  had  been  gathered  up  and  were  in  the 
possession  of  their  keepers. 

Everything  was  ready  for  the  signal,  which  was  fully 
due  and  momentarily  expected, 


42  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  AGONY   OF    SUSPENSE. 

I  may  now  quote  the  Kantoon's  own  words : 

"Every  moment's  delay  added  to  the  anxiety  of  the 
commander  of  the  attacking  party,  because  a  sneeze  from 
any  one  of  the  two  hundred  men  would  have  exposed  our 
presence,"  continued  the  Kantoon  of  the  Happy  Shark, 
quite  interested  in  his  own  narrative.  As  he  grew  more 
animated  and  excited,  however,  his  language  became  so 
polyglot  that,  had  I  not  possessed  a  wide  range  of 
linguistic  attainments,  I  certainly  could  not  have  fol 
lowed  him.  For  ordinary  narrative,  I  found  he  preferred 
Portuguese  and  Spanish;  when  he  attempted  bits  of  pa 
thos,  he  generally  employed  a  horrible  admixture  of 
French  and  Italian;  his  descriptions  were  chiefly  in 
broken  English,  larded  with  German  adjectives  and  Rus 
sian  verbs.  A  free  translation  of  his  narrative  ran  thus ; 

"Aboard  the  Caribas  was  one  man  who  nearly  de 
feated  our  expedition.  He  was  the  boatswain,  a  sturdy, 
rugged  fellow,  who  you  doubtless  remember;  his  strength 
and  courage  will  remain  a  tradition  as  long  as  the  pres 
ent  generation  of  Sargassons  lasts." 

"Yes,  indeed;  I  remember  the  poor  fellow,"  I  added, 
solemnly. 

"As  we  ascertained,  after  his  capture,  the  boatswain 
had  been  a  deep  water  sailor  on  the  Atlantic  nearly  all  his 
life,  had  many  times  approached  our  continent  and  had 
heard  from  sailors  many  tales  regarding  its  mysteries.  He 


THE  AGONY  OF  SUSPENSE.  43 

had  himself  seen  the  Light  in  the  Sky  that  hovered  above 
the  floating  sod;  but,  like  every  superstitious  sailor,  he 
hardly  credited  in  his  own  mind  the  stories  he  repeated  and 
affected  to  believe.  He  had  been  on  deck  at  the  time  the 
Sacred  Light  was  flashed.  He  had  seen  it,  had  studied  it 
carefully  with  a  night  glass,  and  had  assured  himself  that 
the  cone  of  light  proceeded  from  some  point  near  the  sur 
face  of  the  water  to  the  cloud  bank  in  the  sky!  He  knew, 
therefore,  what  the  naked  eye  did  not  reveal,  namely — that 
the  blood-red  spot  in  the  sky  was  the  result  of  a  reflection 
of  something  on  the  water.  He  had  been  very  anxious 
in  his  mind  about  the  matter,  and  had  made  several  efforts 
to  obtain  an  interview  with  the  first  officer  of  the  Caribas, 
who,  in  your  absence,  was  in  command  of  the  ship.  That 
gentleman  was  so  swollen  in  importance  by  the  temporary 
authority  invested  in  him  by  your  absence,  however,  that 
he  would  hold  no  intercourse  with  the  boatswain.  Had 
he  done  so,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  fires  would  have 
been  raked  and  your  steamer  would  have  dropped  away 
from  the  hulk,  thus  rendering  her  capture  impossible." 

"He  has  paid  dearly  for  his  arrogance,"  I  interposed. 

"The  boatswain  evidently  suffered  under  a  premoni 
tion  of  impending  danger,  though  he  had  no  idea  it  would 
come  in  human  form,"  continued  the  Kantoon.  "He  was 
superstitious,  and  expected  the  trouble  ir.  some  unholy 
shape.  For  that  reason  he  purposely  omitted  sounding 
'eight  bells.'  Instead,  he  personally  descended  to  the 
fo'castle  and  roused  the  men  of  th^  next  watch.  We  could 
hear  the  sailors  coming  on  deck,  muttering  and  cursing 
and  declaring  that  'eight  bells'  had  not  struck,  and 
that  therefore  their  time  to  get  up  had  not  arrived.  We 
knew  this  as  well  as  the  men,  and  did  not  understand  the 
reason  any  better  than  they.  The  boatswain's  watch  ex 
pired  at  4  o'clock,  but  he  was  disinclined  to  go  below,  and, 
as  we  afterward  knew  to*  our  cost,  he  remained  on  deck 
awake. 

"With  the  information  that  we  had  received  from 


44  MISSING. 

Gray  regarding  your  ship's  company,  we  expected  to  find 
about  ten  men  on  watch,  including  firemen,  engineer, 
lookout,  helmsman,  and  the  officer  on  the  bridge.  The 
steward,  cooks  and  waiters  we  thought  to  find  asleep 
in  their  bunks,  so  that  they  might  be  tied  up  and 
thrown  overboard  without  special  trouble;  but  the  fore 
bodings  of  this  officious  boatswain  well  nigh  defeated  our 
plans. 

"Practically,  he  had  contrived  to  awake  every  mem 
ber  of  the  ship's  company,  so  that  when  the  assault  was 
finally  made  on  the  order  of  our  Commander,  the  shrill 
whistle  of  the  boatswain  rang  out!  on  the  night  air, 
calling  the  entire  crew  to  quarters,  and  informing  them 
that  a  boarding  party  was  attacking.  The  language  of 
the  boatswain's  whistle,  though  unknown  to  me,  was  famil 
iar  to  every  member  of  your  crew,  and  right  gallantly  did 
they  respond  to  it.  Almost  as  quickly  as  I  can  recount 
the  fact  to  you,  did  they  swarm  out  of  the  fo'castle  to  the 
cabin,  armed  with  cutlasses,  marlin  spikes  and  clubs. 

"Our  directions  had  been  explicitly  given,  and,  in 
brief,  were:  As  soon  as  our  men  crossed  the  bulwarks 
twenty  of  them  were  to  assemble  under  the  bridge,  where 
all  prisoners  were  to  be  brought.  The  right  wing  of  the 
boarding  party  was  to  assault  the  cabins  of  the  acting  cap 
tain,  mate  and  chief  engineer.  The  left  wing  of  the  board 
ing  party  was  to  storm  the  fo'castle,  and,  with  a  plentiful 
use  of  the  Tabasco  powder,  to  capture  the  men — knock 
them  on  the  heads,  if  necessary  to  reduce  them  to  subjec 
tion. 

"Before  this  pretty  scheme  could  be  carried  out,  the 
boatswain  had  organized  a  defensive  party  of  about  a 
dozen  men — some  of  them  only  half  dressed  as  they  came 
promptly  from  their  bunks — had  armed  them,  and  had 
made  an  attack  upon  about  fifty  of  us.  We  noticed  one 
peculiarity  about  the  members  in  this  party.  Each  man 
had  a  moistened  cloth  about  his  mouth  and  nostrils,  show 
ing  that  the  boatswain  had  heard  of  our  methods  of  war- 


THE  AGONY  OF  SUSPENSE.  45 

fare.  They  entered  the  fray  with  their  eyes  almost  closed, 
and  it  was  without  effec  t  that  we  threw  handfuls  of  the  cor 
rosive  and  stupefying  dust  in  their  faces.  They  slashed 
right  and  left  in  a  way  that  endangered  the  success  of  our 
attack.  Some  of  the  other  sailors,  however,  believing  us 
to  be  supernatural  figures,  crouched  whining  and  sobbing 
behind  the  water  casks  and  the  capstan.  It  was  net  until 
the  mates,  engineer,  steward,  cooks  and  waiters  had  been 
subdued  and  tied  up  that  our  entire  force  turned  upon 
the  heroic  boatswain  and  his  party. 

"Our  Commander  rallied  the  men  at  the  ship's  side 
and  addressed  to  them  a  few  words.  Even  while  he  spoke 
your  brave  boatswain  was  at  work  with  an  axe  chopping 
the  cables  that  held  your  ship  to  the  hulk.  In  a  few 
moments  more  the  Caribas  would  have  been  free!  But 
our  Commander  promptly  gave  the  order  to  advance,  and 
the  boatswain  and  his  few  companions  were  captured.  The 
gallant  fellow  fought  to  the  last,  and  was  only  overpow 
ered  by  superiority  of  numbers. 

"The  discipline  exercised  by  our  Commander  was 
admirable.  Except  a  bottle  of  rum,  which  was  standing 
in  the  captain's  cabin,  and  which  was  appropriated  at 
once  by  several  of  the  men,  I  did  not  see  a  single  article 
filched  by  any  of  our  party.  The  commanding  Kantoon 
in  charge  of  the  expedition  at  once  posted  a  man  at  each 
companionway,  and  within  ten  minutes  the  entire  ship  was 
properly  officered  under  his  direction. 

"Of  course,  the  first  problem  was  what  should  be 
done  with  the  captives.  Among  our  people  only  one 
harsh  code  obtains — 'Dead  men  never  talk ;'  and  we  have 
almost  without  exception  given  to  each  captive  the  mercy 
of  extinction.  After  all,  this  is  wisest.  A  man  in  captiv 
ity  always  chafes  under  restraint.  Happiness  is  impossi 
ble.  What  pleasure  can  there  be  in  a  life  of  misery?  How 
ever  sweet  existence  may  be,  death  that  brings  peace  and 
repose  is  preferable.  Such  is  the  view  that  we  Sargassons 


46  MlSttfNG. 

take  of  the  blessing  of  extinction.  We  regard  it  as  an  act 
of  kindness  to  prevent  misery. 

"Our  commander,  therefore,  decided  that  the  entire 
ship's  company  must  die.  Your  little  cabin  boy  begged 
very  hard  for  his  life,  and  it  did  seem  a  very  cruel  act  to 
cut  him  off  in  his  youth ;  but  conquerors  cannot  be  swayed 
by  mere  impulses  of  the  heart,  and  the  sweet-faced  little 
chap  followed  your  second  mate  over  the  side  of  the 
ship.  We  did  not  put  him  in  a  sack,  but  tied  his  ankles 
together,  and,  having  attached  a  heavy  weight  to  his  waist, 
we  dropped  him  feet  foremost  into  the  sea.  I  carry  his 
sad,  tearful  face  in  my  mind  yet.  Of  course  we  made 
quick  work  of  the  crew.  As  a  rule,  we  simply  knocked 
each  man  on  the  head  with  a  marlin  spike,  to  render  him 
insensible,  and  then  tossed  him  overboard. 

"But  when  we  came  to  the  boatswain,  who  had  made 
such  a  valiant  defense,  I  personally  went  to  the  Com 
mander  and  interceded  for  his  life.  He  was  on  the  point 
of  granting  my  request,  when  it  was  suggested  to  him 
by  one  of  the  other  Kantoons  that  the  man  would  prove 
a  very  disagreeable  white  elephant  on  our  hands;  that 
we  would  have  to  feed  him  and  watch  him  for  several 
years.  That  settled  the  fate  of  the  boatswain.  I  felt  very 
sorry,  because  a  man  of  tried  bravery  is  always  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  a  community;  and,  though  this  sturdy  fellow 
had  killed  more  than  a  dozen  of  our  party,  we  all  felt  the 
greatest  admiration  and  respect  for  him. 

"I  stepped  to  his  side  (for  he  had  been  allowed  to 
stand  up,  lashed  to  one  of  the  davits  that  carried  a  lifeboat) 
and  conversed  with  him  for  several  minutes.  He  seemed 
utterly  indifferent  to  his  fate,  said  not  a  word  regarding 
his  impending  death,  but  he  asked,  and  even  begged,  that 
the  life  of  the  poor  little  cabin  boy  be  spared.  He  did  not 
know,  of  course,  that  the  poor  child  had  already  met  his 
fate.  He  expressed  considerable  curiosity  about  our  peo 
ple;  told  me  about  having  seen  the  Sacred  Light;  spoke  of 
the  premonition  of  impending  danger  that  he  had  expe- 


THE  AGONY  OF  SUSPENSE.  47 

rienced;  repeated  some  of  the  tales  that  had  been  told  him 
by  Portuguese  sailors  regarding  the  Sargasso  Sea,  and 
expressed  regret  that  he  had  not  given  these  stories  the 
serious  consideration  that  his  prese  it  misfortune  clearly 
indicated  he  should  have  done.  We  were  cut  short  in 
the  midst  of  our  conversation  by  the  approach  of  the 
Commander,  who  said,  in  his  brusque  way : 

"  'Now,  my  man,  how  do  you  want  to  die?' 

"  'It  doesn't  make  much  difference  to  me,'  the  boat 
swain  answered.  'At  least,  it  will  not  an  hour  hence.' 

"  'True,'  replied  the  commanding  Kantoon;  but  there 
are  all  sorts  of  deaths.  I'd  recommend  drowning.  I  may 
be  prejudiced  in  its  favor,  but  it's  about  the  easiest  form 
in  which  to  take  your  medicine.  Out  of  consideration  for 
your  courage,  I'll  have  you  drowned  on  deck,  here,  if  I 
can  find  a  barrel  filled  with  water.  But  you  must  make 
your  mind  up  in  a  few  minutes.  We  can't  fool  with  you 
all  night.' 

"  'Very  well/  replied  the  boatswain,  indifferently.  'I 
suppose  I  had  better  take  your  advice.  Suit  your  own 
convenience,'  and  he  bowed,  just  as  if  receiving  a  com 
mand. 

''The  order  was  at  once  given,  and  the  head  was 
knocked  out  of  an  empty  water  cask.  It  was  placed  up 
right  on  the  deck,  and  in  three  minutes  it  was  filled  with 
water — a  line  of  bucket  passers  having  been  formed. 
There  were  some  mutterings,  many  Sargassons  protesting 
against  all  this  trouble  about  one  captive;  but  nobody 
dared  openly  to  oppose  the  whim  of  the  Commander. 

"I  went  over  and  shook  hands  with  the  boatswain,  as 
well  as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances,  his  wrists 
being  tightly  bound  together.  He  gave  my  hand  a  firm, 
hearty  pressure,  and  I  then  turned  my  back  in  order  to 
avoid  witnessing  his  last  agonies. 

"He  was  seized  by  six  men,  pitched  head  foremost  into 
the  water  butt,  and  held  there  until  life  was  extinct  His 
struggles  were  not  violent,  and  he  died  with  the  compla- 


48  MISSING. 

cency  that  could  be  expected  of  a  man  who  was  naturally 
a  philosopher,  and  who  regarded  the  end  merely  in  the 
light  of  an  incident.  The  poor  fellow's  body  was  then 
committed  to  the  sea  with  considerable  consideration. 
Thus  ended  a  duty  that  to  most  people  would  be  thought 
very  disagreeable.  Among  the  Sargassons,  however,  we 
feel  no  compunction  at  taking  life.  We  regard  existence 
as  something"  unwillingly  thrust  upon  us — the  loss  of 
which  is  of  very  little  moment. 

"While  this  scene  had  been  enacting  upon  deck,  a 
part  of  our  men  had  been  ordered  to  the  furnaces,  fires 
had  been  replenished  with  coal,  and  by  daylight  we  had 
steam  enough  to  get  under  way.  If  you  will  cast  your 
eyes  in  that  direction,"  continued  the  Kantoon,  pointing 
off  to  the  eastward,  "you  will  see  that  your  ship  is  safely 
moored  in  a  berth,  where  she  will  remain  until  our  good 
mother,  the  Sea,  takes  her  in  final  and  loving  embrace. 
Perhaps  you  would  care  to  use  these  glasses,  with  which 
no  doubt,  you  are  familiar,"  saying  which  the  scoundrel 
had  the  audacity  to  hand  me  my  own  binoculars,  taken 
from  my  own  cabin. 

Right  here,  however,  I  want  to  say  that  petty  theft 
was  unknown  among  the  Sargassons.  The  very  reason 
that  my  sea  glasses  were  in  the  possession  of  the  Kantoon 
of  my  ship  was  that  they  had  been  committed  to  his  care 
in  trust  for  me.  I  found  the  same  thing  to  be  true  re 
garding  my  articles  of  jewelry,  wearing  apparel  and  even 
books  in  the  library  that  contained  my  name.  I  may 
anticipate  far  enough  to  state  that  in  due  time  I  received 
all  these  things,  none  of  them  the  worse  for  wear  or 
misuse. 

I  took  the  glasses  from  the  Kantoon's  hand,  and  soon 
located  the  Caribas  among  the  vast  assemblage  of  vessels 
that  swung  with  the  ocean  swell.  She  lay  at  least  six 
miles  away,  but  I  was  aided  in  my  search  by  a  fine  film  of 
smoke  that  still  ascended  from  her  funnels.  The  fires 
were  dying  out  under  her  boilers,  and  in  another  day  she 


THE  AGONY  OF  S USPENSE.  49 

would  be  as  incapable  of  movement  as  the  oldest  water 
logged  craft  in  the  community. 

The  effect  upon  me  was  very  saddening,  and,  laying 
the  glasses  down  upon  the  deck,  I  bowed  my  head  and 
went  back  to  my  cabin,  to  brood  over  my  misfortune  and 
the  disgrace  that  had  come  upon  me. 

The  awful  story  that  I  had  heard  from  the  Kantoon 
greatly  depressed  me.  Remembering  the  fairly  courteous 
treatment  that  I  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Sar- 
gassons,  I  had  hoped  that  a  few  of  the  ship's  company 
would  have  been  spared ;  I  had  rather  anticipated  that  the 
engineers  and  the  baby-faced  child  in  the  cabin  would  be 
suffered  to  live ;  but  now  all  such  hopes  were  dashed. 

I  was  utterly  alone  among  a  savage  and  unnatural 
people,  who  set  no  store  on  life  themselves,  and 
could  not  be  expected  to  respect  mine.  It  was  not  im 
probable  that  at  any  hour  I  might  receive  the  notification 
that  I,  too,  was  to  be  accorded  the  "mercy  of  extinction." 

In  this  frame  of  mind  I  threw  myself  upon  my  cot 
and  moaned  myself  into  unconsciousness, 


60 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FIDETTE. 

I  was  aroused  from  my  stupor  by  a  voice  whose  ac 
cents  I  had  not  heard  before.  Its  tone  was  tender  and 
sympathetic,  and  instantly  awakened  in  my  heart  the  dor 
mant  love  of  life.  Before  looking  in  the  direction  of  the 
doorway  I  knew  I  was  in  the  presence  of  a  friend — on,e 
who  felt  for  me  in  my  hour  of  dire  despair. 

The  question  of  sex  did  not  occur  to  me— so  com 
pletely  does  misfortune  destroy  all  the  impulses  of  the 
human  heart  ordinarily  aroused  in  the  breast  of  a  com 
paratively  young  man  like  myself  in  the  presence  of 
womankind.  With  no  other  thought  than  that  of  grati 
tude  for  a  gentle  word  tenderly  spoken,  I  raised  my  face 
from  my  hands  and  looked  in  the  direction  of  the  speaker. 

Before  me  I  beheld  a  creature  so  startlingly  beautiful 
that  I  felt  my  senses  leaving  me  at  the  apparition.  She 
was  a  young  girl,  small  in  stature,  but  perfect  in  figure, 
with  hazel-brown  eyes,  and  her  hair,  radiant,  reddish- 
brown  in  color,  fell  'round  her  shoulders  like  a  mantle. 
Her  skin  was  aglow  with  health,  and  her  smile  disclosed 
a  row  of  pearly  teeth  that  glistened  in  the  fading  sunlight. 

She  was  clad  in  a  mantle  of  woven  sea  grass,  of  blue 
and  gray,  held  together  at  her  shoulders  by  sharks'  teeth. 
This  robe  was  belted  at  the  waist  by  a  leathern  girdle, 
studded  with  shells  of  rainbow  hues,  and  fell  loosely  about 
her  figure,  much  as  does  the  costume  of  the  Greeks,  as  I 


FIDETTE.  51 

have  seen  it  worn  at  the  Piraeus  and  oni  the  islands  of  the 
Aegean  Sea.  Her  feet  were  uncovered,  and  of  dainty  size. 
Her  pretty  arms  were  extended  toward  me  in  a  winning, 
beseeching  way.  In  her  left  hand  was  a  sprig  of  green  and 
waxen-leafed  rhododendron,  the  Sargasson  emblem,  as 
I  divined  at  once,  of  a  tender  of  affection.  In  her  right 
hand  was  a  small  wicker  tray  of  berries,  resembling  the 
wintergreeri  in  color  and  size. 

I  gazed  spellbound  upon  the  pretty,  dainty  creature, 
not  daring  to  speak,  for  fear  the  illusion  would  end.  She 
was  so  unreal,  so  unlike  a  thing  of  flesh  and  blood,  so 
weirdly  picturesque — she  was  a  fay  of  the  water  world! 

As  she  opened  the  door  of  my  prison  cell,  she  said,  in 
Creole  French: 

"You  must  be  faint  and  hungry,  monsieur.  Do  eat 
these  berries  that  I  have  gathered  for  you,  and  be  re 
freshed.  Come,  I  will  take  you  where  we  may  see  the  sun 
go  down." 

"I  thank  you  very  kindly,"  was  my  deferential  reply. 
"Yours  is  the  first  friendly  word  I  have  received  since  my 
captivity." 

"I  know  you  have  been  unhappy,  and  for  that  reason 
have  I  come  to  cheer  you,"  wras  the  frank  reply  of  the 
graceful  girl,  as  with  a  smile  she  handed  me  the  sprig  of 
bay.  "It  is  the  custom  of  our  people  that  all  captives  who 
suffer  the  punishment  of  living  shall  endure  isolation  for 
five  long  days  and  nights,  that  they  may  know  mental 
wretchedness  and  reconcile  themselves  to  Sargasson  life." 

After  this  the  young  woman  led  the  way  aft,  along 
the  main  deck,  to  a  pretty  cabin,  in  which  was  a  large  port 
that  gave  upon  the  west.  Through  this  broad  aperture 
the  setting  sun,  a  mass  of  golden  red,  could  be  seen  sink 
ing  into  the  sea. 

By  my  inquiring  looks,  though  not  by  words,  I  put 
the  question  many  times  to  this  brown-eyed  creature  as 
to  her  identity,  and  how  she  came  to  be  upon  the  Happy 
Shark.  She  took  the  earliest  occasion,  therefore,  to  ex- 


52  MISSING. 

plain  in  simple  manner  and  with  graceful  gestures,  that 
she  was  the  daughter  of  the  ship's  Kantocm;  that  her 
mother  had  been  a  captive,  like  myself  "accorded  the  pun 
ishment  of  living,"  merely  because  her  bright  eyes  and 
teeth  had  pleased  the  fancy  of  the  master  of  the  Happy 
Shark.  The  speaker  had  been  born  in  Sargasso,  and  had 
never  known  aught  of  any  other  world.  To  her  mother, 
who  came  from  New  Orleans,  she  owed  the  quaint  French 
dialect  that  she  spoke  and  the  slight  acquaintance  with 
the  English  language  that  she  afterward  confessed. 

The  young  girl's  story  of  her  mother's  life  was  as  ro 
mantic  as  a  tale  of  fiction.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a 
place  woman,  that  peculiar  phase  of  social  life  existing  no 
where  else  in  America  except  in  Louisiana.  Though 
raised  amid  surroundings  that  were  not  entirely  respecta 
ble,  she  was  brought  up  a  devoted  member  of  the  Church 
and  at  an  early  age  placed  in  a  school,  where  she  remained 
for  eight  years.  She1  was  taught  to  sew  and  embroider ;  to 
play  the  harp  and  to  sing.  Because  of  her  pretty  face  and 
graceful  manners,  she  was  encouraged  in  the  coquette's 
art,  and  a  bright  and  brilliant  future  was  predicted  for 
her.  To  the  mortification  of  the  good  sisters,  who  spe 
cially  charged  themselves  with  the  young  girl's  future, 
and  for  whom  they  hoped  to  make  an  eligible  match,  she 
escaped  one  night  from  her  protectors,  as  was  alleged  by 
bribery  of  the  concierge,  and  eloped  with  a  dashing  young 
swell  of  the  Crescent  City.  He  was  the  son  of  one  of  the 
few  large  sugar  planters  who  had  saved  their  fortunes  out 
of  the  wreck  of  the  civil  war. 

When  the  rebellion  was  seen  to  be  inevitable,  he  had 
converted  all  his  negroes  and  personal  effects  into  money, 
which  he  had  transferred  to  the  care  of  his  London 
bankers.  The  plantation,  of  course,  could  not  be  sold. 
But  thousands  of  hogsheads  of  sugar  and  molasses  in  his 
warehouses  were  rapidly  disposed  of,  and  the  proceeds 
forwarded  from  time  to  time  to  London.  When  the  war 
came,  he  entered  into  it  with  fervor  and  rose  to  the  rank 


FIDETTE.  68 

of  brigadier-general.  Although  wounded  in  several  fights, 
he  returned  to  his  native  city  in  safety. 

His  son,  who  had  been  a  mere  lad  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war,  grew  up  a  profligate.  So  entirely  did  he 
alienate  his  father's  affection  that  on  his  parent's  death  the 
estate  was  left  in  such  a  condition  that  he  could  not  lay 
his  hands  upon  a  single  dollar.  A  stated  income  was 
however,  paid  him,  and  this  he  spent  in  the  wildest  dissi 
pation.  Getting  into  the  hands  of  money-lenders,  he  had, 
at  the  time  of  this  escapade,  mortgaged  his  allowance  for 
several  years  to  come. 

When  the  deluded  woman  found  that  she  had  joined 
her  life  to  that  of  a  worthless  adventurer,  who  lived  wholly 
upon  his  friends,  and  who  found  his  only  excitement  at 
the  gambling  table,  she  was  heartbroken;  but  she  ac 
cepted  her  fate  with  the  same  resignation  as  does  the 
faithful  woman  everywhere.  It  was  not  long  until  neg- 
ect  was  followed  by  abuse  and  insult;  but,  according  to 
the  daughter's  narrative,  the  mother's  fidelity  to  the  man 
she  had  trusted  never  changed. 

In  the  Summer  of  1872,  having  raised  some  money, 
the  daring  young  gambler  decided  to  visit  Saratoga, 
where,  at  that  time,  games  of  chance  were  openly  con 
ducted,  in  the  hope  that  he  could  retrieve  his  fortune. 
Marie  accompanied  him.  They  left  New  Orleans  in  a 
small  steamer  bound  for  New  York,  and  had  a  pleasant 
voyage  for  many  days.  One  very  dark  night,  however, 
a  terrible  storm  arose,  and  it  was  announced  that  the 
steamer  had  sprung  a  leak.  The  fires  were  soon  put  out 
by  the  inflowing  water,  and  when  daylight  came  the  vessel 
had  become  a  helpless  derelict,  rolling  in  the  trough  of 
the  sea.  Every  moment  seemed  the  last.  The  sailors 
lost  courage,  expecting  the  water-logged  craft  to  capsize 
and  sink. 

The  poor  little  Creole  woman,  faint  with  fright  and 
filled  with  an  inborn  terror  of  the  sea,  quietly  slipped 
away  to  her  stateroom,  crawled  into  her  bunk  and  oov- 


54  MISSING. 

ered  her  head,  desiring  to  await  death  alone,  and  to  meet 
it  in  this  less  frightful  form.  ITius  she  lay  for  a  day  and 
a  night,  apparently  forgotten.  And  yet  death  came  not 
Evidently  the  anger  of  the  sea  had  subsided,  and  on  the 
second  day,  hungry  and  despairing,  she  crawled  on  deck 
to  find  the  entire  ship  deserted  and  she  its  sole  occupant. 
All  the  boats  were  gone — officers,  crew  and  passengers 
had  departed,  leaving  her  to  her  fate.  She  had  been  over 
looked;  or,  if  considered  at  all,  it  had  been  assumed  that 
one  of  the  seas  that  came  aboard  had  carried  her  to  a 
watery  grave. 

It  required  little  tax  of  memory  to  recall  the  loss  of 
the  George  Cornwall,  Capt.  Timothy  Rogers,  that  had 
sailed  from  New  Orleans  about  the  time  described,  never 
to  reach  New  York,  and  whose  fate,  beyond  the  discov 
ery  of  one  of  her  upturned  boats,  was  never  known. 

The  young  girl  at  my  side  dwelt  with  graphic  fullness 
upon  the  months  that  her  unfortunate,  deserted  mother 
had  passed  alone  aboard  the  derelict.  Provisions  were 
plenty,  and  she  did  not  suffer  for  food  or  drink.  Vessels 
were  sighted  many  times,  but  none  of  them  saw  the  sig 
nal  of  distress  that  she  displayed.  So  wretched  and  hope 
less  seemed  her  position;  so  ever  present  was  the  prospect 
of  death,  and  so  appalling  was  it  to  her,  that  she  slept  little 
and  ate  only  food  enough  to  sustain  life.  Many  times  she 
seriously  contemplated  casting  herself  into  the  sea  in 
order  to  end  her  misery. 

Months  passed.  She  kept  no  record  of  the  flight 
of  time.  Moonlight,  darkness,  fog,  fair  weather  and 
storm  succeeded  each  other;  but  the  moon  mocked  her, 
and  the  sun  and  the  fetid  breath  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
parched  her  throat.  Even  the  stars  lost  that  assurance  of 
companionship,  recognized  by  every  sailor  of  the  ocean. 

The  forsaken  woman,  alone  upon  her  rolling,  log-like 
vessel,  never  understood  by  what  route  she  reached  the 
Seaweed  Sea.  Of  course,  my  pretty  informant,  knowing 
nothing  of  the  geography  of  the  North  Atlantic,  could 


FIDETTE.  55 

not  even  offer  a  surmise,  and  the  probability  is  that  the 
derelict,  carrying  its  solitary  passenger,  skirted  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream  until  it  reached  the  latitude  of 
New  York  and  the  longitude  of  Cape  Farewell,  when  it 
began  a  zigzag  course  that  eventually  landed  it  in  Sar 
gasso. 

Contrary  to  theory,  the  derelicts  did  not  pass  around 
the  Azore  Islands  and  thence  southward  past  the  coast 
of  Africa,  but,  just  before  they  reach  the  path  of  the 
transatlantic  steamers,  they  are  deflected  to  the  southeast 
ward,  and  make  their  way  slowly  to  the  Graveyard  of  the 
Ocean — the  Port  of  Missing  Ships. 

Coming  on  deck  one  morning,  after  fully  five  months 
of  loneliness,  the  solitary  woman  wasi  surprised  to  find 
that  during  the  night,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  strong 
current,  the  ship  she  inhabited  had  penetrated  far  into  the 
heart  of  the  meadow-like  expanse.  It  had  followed  one 
of  the  large  open  waterways  with  which  Sargasso  abounds 
On  all  sides  were  to  be  seen  the  vessels  of  the  Community. 
The  Sargassons  had  detected  the  presence  of  the  new 
derelict,  and,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  discovery 
by  the  passenger  that  the  vessel  had  reached  some  sort  of 
a  haven,  boats  were  seen  putting  out  in  ever}''  direction  to 
effect  a  capture. 

The  customary  law  of  salvage  recognized  among 
wreckers  did  not  obtain,  as  the  system  of  government  was 
one  of  absolute  communism.  Ail  goods  were  held  in 
common,  but  the  keenest  rivalry  did  exist  among  the  in 
habitants  of  the  various  vessels  regarding  their  ability  as 
oarsmen,  and  the  Chief  Kantoon  always  awarded  the 
most  precious  article  aboard  the  captured  vessel  to  the 
Kantoon  of  the  first  crew  to  reach  the  side  of  the  derelict. 

As  happened  on  this  occasion,  the  Kantoon  of  the 
Happy  Shark  was  first  on  board,  and  his  gallant  com 
panions  swung  over  the  derelict's  side  with  drawn  knives 
and  cutlasses,  prepared  to  destroy  any  survivors  that 
might  be  on  board.  But  when  they  were  confronted 


50  MISSING. 

solely  by  the  pretty  Creole  woman,  savage  as  were  their 
hearts,  all  saluted  her  in  their  crude  fashion. 

Solitary  as  had  been  her  life,  she  had  never  for  a 
moment  neglected  her  dress,  and  she  was  so  daintily  at 
tired  that  these  rude  people,  whose  blood  was  as  cold  as 
that  of  the  monsters  of  the  sea,  felt  their  faces  glow  with 
delight  and  admiration  as  they  gazed  upon  the  beautiful 
creature.  Perhaps  they  may  have  felt  a  pang  of  remorse 
at  the  thought  that  their  captive  would  have  to  suffer  the 
usual  penalty  accorded  to  all  such  members  of  the  race  as 
came  into  their  clutches. 

In  a  few  minutes,  of  course,  the  deck  of  the  derelict 
swarmed  with  Sargassons,  young  and  old.  All  gazed 
with  rapt  admiration  upon  the  pretty  captive. 

In  a  bewildered  fashion,  she  had  seated  herself  at  her 
favorite  place  upon  the  after  deck,  and  awaited  her  fate 
in  silence. 

When  the  Kantoon,  who,  under  the  Chief  Kantoon, 
ruled  the  immediate  cantonments,  arrived  and  took  pos 
session  of  the  derelict  in  the  name  of  his  people,  the  con 
demnation  of  the  captive  was  a  matter  of  course. 

She  was  sentenced  to  be  sewed  up  in  a  sack,  heavily 
weighted  with  irons,  and  tenderly  dropped  over  the  side 
of  the  ship  into  the  sea. 

It  was  the  duty  of  her  captor — that  is,  the  Kantoon  of 
the  first  crew  to  take  possession  of  the  ship — to  acquaint 
her  with  her  fate. 

This  sad  mission  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  master  of  the 
Happy  Shark. 

He  delayed  the  transmission  of  the  message  until  he 
should  have  claimed  his  right,  as  the  captor  of  the  vessel, 
to  select  the  most  valuable  article  as  a  trophy  of  his  suc 
cess. 

When  the  Deputy  Chief  Kantoon  had  spoken  and 
demanded  of  him  his  choice,  the  captain  of  the  Happy 
Shark  did  not  hesitate  an  instant,  but  approached  the 


F1DETTE.  57 

pretty  captive,  took  her  hand,  raised  it  to  his  lips,  drew 
her  to  her  feet,  and,  leading  her  forward,  replied : 

"She  is  my  choice." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  nearly  all  the  Kantoons  of 
the  other  vessels  promptly  protested  against  any  such  de 
parture  from  the  recognized  Sargasson  code. 

Death  was  the  penalty  for  intruding  into  Sargasso, 
and  it  should  be  meted  out  with  impartial  justice  to  men 
and  women  alike.  But  the  brave  master  of  the  Happy 
Shark  stood  on  his  rights. 

In  vain  his  confreres,  who  had  rummaged  about  the 
ship,  heaped  up  before  him  a  score  of  telescopes,  chro 
nometers,  sextants  and  massive  silver  dishes.  He  shook 
his  head.  His  choice  was  made,  and  he  demanded  that 
the  Deputy  Chief  Kantoon  confirm  it. 

"Thus  came  my  mother  to  this  strange  people,  apart 
from  all  the  world,"  added  my  pretty  companion. 

I  looked  into  her  face  and  saw  that  the  golden-red  of 
the  setting  sun  had  imparted  such  lustrous  beauty  to  her 
eyes  and  cheeks  as  never  was  worn  by  woman  before. 
Her  voice,  too,  seemed  more  musical  as  she  continued: 

"The  Deputy  Chief  Kantoon  stepped  to  the  side  or 
the  captive  and  her  captor,  and  rejoined  their  hands,  for 
in  her  shy  timidity  the  trembling  woman  had  released 
her  fingers  from  the  bearlike  clutch  of  the  rude  though 
tender-hearted  man.  He  next  muttered  some  unintel 
ligible  words — and  so  they  were  married. 

"After  the  ceremony  was  performed,  all  the  members 
of  the  community  present  appeared  to  promptly  acquiesce 
in  the  will  of  their  chief.  From  among  the  collection  of 
trinkets  that  had  been  gathered  from  staterooms  and 
cabins,  consisting  of  jewels,  money  and  rich  articles  of 
women's  apparel,  each  man)  chose  a  gift  for  the  bride,  pre 
senting  it  in  each  case  with  a  few  words  expressive  of 
good  wishes. 

"The  Kantoon  of  the  Happy  Shark — my  father  that 
was  to  be — returned  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy  to  his  vessel,  e»- 


58  MISSING. 

tablished  the  mistress  of  his  heart  in  the1  captain's  cabin, 
and,  within  an  hour  appeared  on  deck  cleanly  shaven  and 
wearing  a  cravat  of  variegated  sea  grass  most  becoming 
to  his  sere  and  yellow  countenance." 

The  sun  had  gone  to  rest  He  no  longer  watched  me 
across  the  swaying  meadow.  No  one  stood  by  to  inter 
fere,  and  so  welled  my  heart  with  gratitude  to  the  com 
panion  by  my  side,  that,  waving  sense  or  reason  far  aside, 
I  clutched  her  in  my  arms  and  kissed  her  fervently. 

So  nearly  akin  to  gratitude  is  love! 


AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING.  61 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING. 

The  Kantoon  of  the  Happy  Shark  visited  me  again  on 
the  following  morning.  After  the  episode  that  closed  the 
preceding  chapter,  his  hazel-eyed  daughter  had  left  me 
with  a  burst  of  laughter  that,  far  from  indicating  offense, 
encouraged  me  to  hope  that  my  rudeness  was  forgiven. 
As  soon  as  she  had  gone,  I  returned  to  my  cell  and  drew 
the  door  shut. 

Pretty  as  this  girl  was,  I  realized  there  must  be  many 
suitors  for  her  hand  among  all  the  brave  and  daring  fel 
lows  who  commanded  the  various  vessels,  and  I  foresaw 
all  manner  of  complications  for  me  in  permitting  myself 
to  fall  in  love  with  this  pretty  sprite.  Yet,  you  must  re 
member,  I  was  barely  28;  I  never  had  had  sufficient  lei 
sure  before  to  be  in  love,  and  I  was  willing  to  take  a  rea 
sonable  amount  of  risk,  even  among  this  semi-savage 
people,  for  the  sake  of  winning  the  affections  of  such  a 
strangely  beautiful  creature. 

When,  therefore,  my  master  suddenly  appeared  be 
fore  the  door  of  my  cell  and  opened  it,  I  had  a  presenti 
ment  that  something  disagreeable  was  going  to  happen. 
Anger  was  apparent  on  his  face.  Every  individual  gray 
bristle  in  his  beard  stood  on  end,  and  he  viciously  chewed 
the  bit  of  sea  grass  that  he  always  carried  in  his  mouth. 

"S-o-o-o,"  h«  began,  "you  have  ventured  to  make 
eyes  at  my  little  Shark?  You  have  told  her  thai  her  teeth 


58  MISSING. 

are  white.    You  have  held  her  hand,  and,  by  the  Sacred 
Light,  you've  dared  to  kiss  her!" 

My  astonishment  was  so  great  that  I  only  stammered 
in  reply:  "Why,  most  gracious  Kantoon,  do  you  accuse 
me?  Did  the  fair  young  lady  make  any  such  a  charge?'' 

"She?  She!  Not  at  all,"  was  the  prompt  retort. 
"But  you  were  observed.  My  faithful  cabin  boy  saw 
what  happened,  and  reported  to  me.  In  punishment  I 
shall  separate  you.  In  a  few  weeks  I  shall  take  possesses  i 
of  the  Caribas,  which,  from  that  hour,  will  be  my  canton 
ment.  You  will  remain  behind.  You  will  become  the 
executive  of  this  sinking  craft.  You  have  yet  about  two 
years  in  your  span  of  life  before  the  incrusted  barnacles 
carry  the  Happy  Shark  .to  the  bottom.  You  shall  never 
see  Fidette  again.  She  will  go  with  me  to  the  Caribas, 
and,  although  she  was  born  and  raised  on  this  ship,  she 
shall  never  visit  here." 

I  hastened  to  explain,  with  as  full  a  vocabulary  as  I 
possessed,  that  he  had  exaggerated  the  importance  of  the 
incident  his  cabin  boy  had  witnessed.  It  was  true  that  I 
kissed  Fidelte,  but  she  was  an  angel,  and  the  salute  I  gave 
her  was  a  respectful  tribute  of  homage  to  her  beauty  and 
her  divine  character.  I  assumed  entirely  the  blame  of  the 
episode.  I  said  nothing  about  the  young  lady's  visit  to 
my  cell  door,  but  led  the  Kantoon  to  believe  that  we  had 
met  for  the  first  time  at  the  cabin  window,  where  we  had 
gazed  together  upon  the  setting  sun. 

This  seemed  to  placate  him  a  little,  and,  handing  me 
a  piece  of  bulbous  root  to  chew,  the  Kantoon  continued: 

"I  knew  this  morning  that  something  had  happened 
to  Fidette.  She  was  in  a  condition  of  hysteria  during  most 
of  the  night.  In  her  sleep  she  laughed  and  cried.  I  did  not 
know  what  to  make  of  it.  I  doubt  if  the  cabin  boy  would 
have  told  me  of  your  conduct  had  he  not  feared  his  little 
mistress  was  growing  dangerously  ill.  So  far  as  I  know,  it 
is  the  first  time  she  has  ever  been  in  love.  Possibly  I  am 
mistaken;  for  \vhat  does  an  old  fool  father  know?  She 


AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING.  61 

is  evidently  smitten  with  you.  That  is  natural;  you  are 
not  such  a  very  bad-looking  fellow,  and  you  must  possess 
talent  and  ability  to  have  risen,  at  your  age,  to  the  com 
mand  of  so  fine  a  vessel  as  the  Caribas.  As  she  grows 
older  Fidette  is  certain  to  become  more  beautiful.  Such 
was  the  case  with  my  poor  wife.  She  was  the  prettiest 
woman  that  ever  lived." 

The  Kantoon  then  told  the  story  of  Fidette's  mother 
in  a  far  less  intelligible  way  than  the  young  girl  had 
done,  and  described  the  critical  moment  in  his  life,  when 
he  had  demanded  her  as  his  choice  of  the  prize  goods 
in  the  ship  George  Cornwall,  with  becoming  modesty. 
Many  another  man  would  have  enlarged  upon  this  inci 
dent,  and  made  himself  the  hero  of  it.  The  Kantoon  did 
nothing  of  the  kind.  This  impressed  me  in  his  favor. 
Beginning  with  their  life  aboard  the  Happy  Shark,  the 
Kantoon  said: 

"As  you  may  imagine,  I  was  immensely  proud  of 
my  pretty  wife.  She  was  by  all  odds  the  handsomest 
woman  in  the  entire  Seaweed  Sea.  She  was  the  latest 
acquisition,  also,  from  the  outside  world.  She  brought 
us  history  up  to  date!  She  never  tired  of  telling  us  about 
a  great  war,  extending  over  four  years,  that  you  had  had 
in  the  United  States;  and,  as  I  belong  to  a  warlike  people, 
every  detail  interested  me.  The  episodes  of  that  great 
conflict  have  become  as  household  words  among  this 
ship's  company.  Down  in  the  fo'castle  only  this  morn 
ing,  I  heard1  the!  boatswain  describing  the  charge  at 
Gettysburg  of  that  brave  young  Southerner,  Pickett.  Of 
course,  the  naval  battles  interested  us  most,  and  from  the 
lips  of  my  dear  companion  we  heard  details  of  sea  fights 
that  caused  our  blood  to  thrill. 

"About  two  years  after  our  marriage  Fidette  was  bom. 
She  was  a  bright  child  from  her  earliest  youth.  The 
Chief  Kantoon,  at  that  time  a  very  aged  and  distinguished 
man,  stood  for  her  when  she  was  christened  by  the  Priest 
of  the  Sacred  Fire,  and  many  presents,  some  of  real  util- 


61  MISSING. 

hy,  were  showered  upon  her.  The  education  of  tliis  child 
became  the  sole  object  of  my  wife's  life.  She  taught  her 
with  infinite  pains  the  quaint  French  she  spoke  herself, 
and  read  to  her  out  of  some  of  the  few  books  I  afterward 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  library  of  the  George 
Cornwall.  For  my  part,  I  cannot  read  any  language. 
As  a  boy,  I  spent  my  days  and  nights  at  sea,  and  never 
had  an  opportunity  to  acquire  even  the  most  rudimentary 
education. 

"When  the  stock  of  clothing  that  my  wife  had 
brought  from  the  ship  was  exhausted,  she  it  was  who  de 
signed  the  pretty  costumes,  similar  to  that  worn  by 
Fidette.  It  is  peculiarly  Sargasson.  Nothing  like  it  is 
to  be  found  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 

"Fidette  assimilated,  naturally,  with  her  surroundings. 
She  is  very  expert  with  the  canoe  paddle,  and  can  climb 
the  ratlines  of  a  ship  with  the  facility  of  a  tiger  cat.  Were 
it  not  for  her  fear  of  sharks,  which  I  encourage,  I  believe 
she  would  spend  most  of  her  time  in  the  water.  What 
makes  her  all  the  more  precious  to  me  is  the  fact  that  her 
poor  mother  is  dead.  She  contracted  a  fever  and  died 
six  months  ago." 

Moist  as  was  the  garb  in  which  the  Kantoon  was 
arrayed — for  he  had  just  climbed  out  his  cask  of 
water  to  visit  me — I  beheld  tears  well  up  in  his  eyes  in  a 
way  that  showed  he  tenderly  cherished  the  memory  of  his 
beautiful  Creole  wife.  I  have  ever  since  thought  that  re 
awakened  affection  for  the  dead  made  easier  my  way  to 
his  heart. 

This  brave  Kantoon,  who  had  faced  death  and  the 
treacherous  enmity  of  all  his  associates  for  a  pretty  face, 
was  completely  under  the  domination  of  Fidette.  She 
was  the  real  commander  of  the  Happy  Shark;  but  she 
was  full  of  tact,  and  avoided  asserting  the  power  she  un 
questionably  possessed.  Although  the  father  scowled  at 
me  many  times  during  this  interview,  and  others  immedi 
ately  succeeding  it,  his  feelings  soon  softened  to  such  a 


AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING.  63 

degree  that  I  was  no  longer  imprisoned,  and  was  con 
sulted  regarding  the  weather  prospects  and  other  matters 
of  dull  routine  about  the  ship. 

Up  to  this  time  I  have  said  almost  nothing  about 
our  own  community  aboard  the  Happy  Shark.  My  ex 
cuse  for  this  is  the  number  of  incidents  that  have  suc 
ceeded  each  other  during  my  first  few  days  on  board  the 
queer  old  craft.  Indeed,  it  was  not  until  I  had  received  the 
"freedom  of  the  ship"  that  I  was  able  to  truly  describe  the 
social  organization.  Including  the  Kantoon,  his  daugh 
ter,  and  its  chief  executive  officers  (who  regulated  hours 
of  sleep  among  the  members  of  the  various  watches,  by 
day  and  night),  there  were  eighty-five  people  aboard  the 
Happy  Shark.  Their  duties  may  be  chiefly  described  as 
fellows: 

The  Kantoon  was  the  visible  representative  of  the 
chief  power  of  the  Sargassons.  He  was  responsible  for 
the  health  and  the  good  order  on  board  his  ship.  His 
authority  was  unlimited  in  emergencies — it  extended 
even  to  life  and  death. 

When  the  situation  was  not  critical,  however,  he  was 
expected  to  submit  the  question  of  the  execution  of  a 
member  of  his  own  crew  to  the  Chief  Kantoon.  This 
involved  a  respite  of  two  days. 

Indeed,  among  the  entire  people,  there  seemed  to  be 
the  utmost  reverence  and  respect  for  the  central  power. 

Although  I  veritably  believe  that  the  blood  in  the 
veins  of  the  Sargassons  is  cold  instead  of  warm,  there 
were  many  features  about  their  system  of  government 
that  showed  a  thoughtful  respect  for  the  feelings  of  an 
unfortunate  fellow  man. 

The  Kantoon,  therefore,  was  an  autocrat  whose  acts 
were  subject  to  review.  Although  his  authority  was 
absolute  on  board  his  own  ship,  owing  to  the  very  con 
dition  under  which  he  enjoyed  life,  I  did  not  witness  any 
exhibition  of  tyranny  on  the  Happy  Shark,  or  any  of  the 
other  vessels  that  formed  the  community. 


G4  MISSING. 

The  system  of  government  was  quite  incongruous, 
I  admit.  It  was  inevitable  that  it  should  be  so,  because, 
although  all  property  was  nominally  held  in  common, 
actually  no  member  of  a  crew  could  appropriate  a  blade 
of  sea-grass  or  a  single  dried  Ogalla  berry  (a  fruit  quite 
like  the  mulberry,  that  grew  plentifully  and  of  which  all 
Sargassons  were  very  fond),  without  the  consent  of  the 
Kantoon  of  his  ship. 

Again,  the  superiority  of  the  Kantoon  was  em 
phasized  by  the  fact  that  he  was  the  only  member  of  the 
ship's  company  who  was  allowed  to  have  a  wife.  This 
law,  I  saw  at  once,  militated  against  my  future  happi 
ness,  because  it  seemed  impossible  to  hope  that  I  could 
rise  to  the  distinction  of  commanding  one  of  the  flotilla 
for  many  years  to  come.  Meanwhile,  some  ambitious 
suitor,  whose  record  for  bravery  was  established,  would 
claim  Fidette  as  his  prize. 

This  thought,  probably,  caused  the  young  woman's 
father  considerable  anxiety. 

I  Avondered  if  it  had  ever  occurred  to  Fidette  to 
worry  about  marriage.  She  must  have  known  how  poor 
were  the  chances  of  our  future  happiness.  Apparently, 
she  accepted  life  exactly  as  it  came  to  her,  never  bor 
rowed  trouble,  and  had  confidence  in  her  own  ability 
to  shape  events  to  suit  herself  possessed  by  few  other 
women. 

She  was  among  a  wild  race,  with  all  the  instincts 
and  impulses  of  an  American  girl,  but  she  never  for  a 
moment  had  a  thought  of  deserting  her  father  or  leav- 
ing  the  old  home,  made  sacred  by  the  memory  of  her 
dead  mother. 

Such  was  the  position  of  the  Kantoon  of  the  Happy 
Shark,  and  his  daughter  Fidette.  Such  were  the  facts 
that  confronted  me. 

The  first  mate  was  the  executive  officer  of  the  ship. 
He  was  expected  to  see  that  the  vessel  was  kept  thor 
oughly  moistened,  in  order  that  dry  rot  should  not  set 


AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING.  65 

in.  The  Sargassons  had  a  horror  of  dryness.  They 
were  the  most  cleanly  people  living — taking  frequent 
baths  every  day,  and  while  on  duty  keeping  their  cloth 
ing  constantly  damp.  During  each  watch,  one  of  th_e 
crew  was  stationed  at  the  rail  and  drew  from  the  sea 
a  pail  of  water  from  time  to  time,  which  he  dashed  over 
each  of  his  comrades,  including  the  officer  of  the  deck. 
The  Kantoon,  I  imagine,  stood  in  a  barrel  of  water  be 
cause  of  the  show  of  authority  that  it  gave  to  the  mind 
of  the  Sargassons. 

Dry  rot  was  a  constantly  menacing  terror  1  It  was 
insidious  in  its  methods  of  attack;  outwardly  invisible,  it 
could  only  be  detected  by  frequent  borings  of  the  ship's 
hull. 

To  the  prevention  of  dry  rot  and  to  checking  the 
accumulation  of  barnacles  upon  the  outside  of  the  ship, 
the  executive  officer  gave  the  strictest  attention. 

So  far  as  I  ever  saw,  the  crews  were  thoroughly 
tractable.  Not  a  member  of  any  of  them,  during  my 
stay,  attempted  to  escape.  True,  they  werd  rarely 
given  an  opportunity.  The  small  wicker  boats,  in  which 
they  made  their  journeys  from  ship  to  ship,  would  not 
have  been  safe,  under  the  best  circumstances,  outside  the 
vast  blanket  of  seaweed  that  prevented  breakers  from 
forming,  and  the  water-logged  hulks  from  rolling  over. 

Each  derelict  was  a  social  organism  in  itself;  but 
owing  to  the  fact  that  life,  at  the  very  best,  was  uncer 
tain  among  these  communities,  each  floating  village  had 
a  law  of  its  own. 

The  vessels  were  liable  to  destruction  during  every 
storm — by  collision  with  crafts:  of  stronger  build,  by  the 
ravages  of  time,  or  by  an  over-weighted  accumulation 
of  barnacles,  that,  growing  rapidly  in  tropical  waters, 
often  literally  drew  the  hulks  to  the  bottom. 

A  case  of  this  kind  came  under  my  notice.  Not  far 
from  the  Happy  Shark  I  saw  a  small  bark,  the  crew  on 
which  were  obviously  enjoying  their  last  days  of  life. 


66  MISSING 

Their  vessel  was  weighted  with  barnacles  up  to  her  bow 
sprit.  Tons  of  the  calcareous  accretions  were  visible,  as 
the  hulk  rose  and  fell  in  the  water.  This  painful  spec 
tacle  disclosed  one  of  the  apparently  cruel  phases  of  Sar 
gasson  life,  for  the  Kantoon  of  our  ship  sternly  pro 
hibited  sending  relief  to  that  sinking  craft  or  the  saving 
of  the  community  on  board  her.  I  repeatedly  suggested 
that  it  was  inhuman  to  allow  our  neighbors  to  live  in 
such  imminent  peril  of  their  lives,  only  to  be  ultimately 
swallowed  up;  but  the  Kantoon  sternly  shook  his  head, 
and  declared  that  such  was  the  law  of  the  Sargassons 
— and  his  polyglot  language  was  almost  as  great  an  in 
fliction  as  death;  that  the  people  on  board  the  bark  had 
enjoyed  their  full  span  of  life ;  that  drowning  would  bring- 
the  relief  they  coveted;  that  the  end  had  little  terrors 
for  them,  because  it  brought  to  them  the  blessing  of 
eternal  repose. 

Repose  is  the  conception  of  Sargasson:  excitement! 

Death  is  repose ;  therefore,  it  is  welcome. 

The  lives  of  the  Sargassons  are  quite  lethargic,  but 
they  are  clamorous  for  rest. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  point  out  all  the  incon 
sistencies  in  the  religious  beliefs  of  this  people.  Take, 
for  instance,  their  vague  conception  of  heaven.  Believ 
ing  in  extinction,  as  they  universally  did,  they  could  hav« 
had  no  logical  use  for  any  heaven;  yet,  they  hoped  to  at 
tain  that  place  of  felicity,  after  death,  and  thought  it  to 
be  an  absolutely  level  country,  covered1  to  an  even  depth 
of  three  feet  with  warm,  refreshing  water,  in  which  all 
the  dwellers  could  wallow  and  walk  eternally.  But  how 
the  departed  spirits  were  to  reach  this  abode  of  bliss,  or 
renew  their  spiritual  existence  after  their  primary  ex 
tinction,  I  never  found  a  Sargasson  capable  of  explaining. 

If  the  Sargassons  were  mentally  befogged  regarding 
their  theories  of  a  future  state  and  of  eternal  rewards 
and  punishments,  they  had  a  great  many  thoroughly  prac 
tical  observances  respecting  this  life.  Their  principal 


AN  OLD  MAN'S  DARLING.  87 

article  of  diet  was  seaweed,  which  they  served  in  tht  form 
of  a  glutinous  pudding,  like  farina.  Fish,  which  were 
very  plentiful,  furnished  their  only  solid  food.  If  Vic 
tor  Hugo's  theory  be  true  that  fish  creates  and  sustains 
brain  tissue,  the  Sargassons  ought  to  have  been  the  most 
intellectual  people  in  the  world.  They  devoured  fish  in 
great  quantities.  It  had  always  seemed  a  severe  pen 
ance  to  me  to  be  compelled  to  satisfy  my  hunger,  on  one 
day  in  the  week,  with  fish,  and  when  I  found  it  pro 
vided  as  a  steady  article  of  food,  my  appetite  soon  re 
belled.  The  seaweed  stew  was  quite  palatable,  being 
naturally  salted  to  the  taste,  but  I  never  could  becomt 
accustomed  to  the  sundried  fish. 

The  seaweed,  collected  in  large  quantities,  was  placed 
upon  structures  of  lattice  work  resembling  grape  ar 
bors,  and  was  thoroughly  dried.  It  was  then  picked  over 
and  the  edible  weeds  selected. 

As  a  people,  the  Sargassons  did  not  smoke,  but 
there  were  some  experts  among  them  who  could  roll  a 
seaweed  cigarette.  I  never  attempted  to  smojce  more 
than  one  of  them,  though  I  found  it  quite  as  good  as  th* 
Virginia  cheroot  served  in  the  Italian  restaurants  of  New 
York. 

The  Sargassons  were  a  temperate  people,  although 
they  produced  intoxication  by  drinking  rain  water,  in 
which  spars  and  old  anchors  had  been  soaked. 

All  crimes  had  their  punishments.  The  abuse  of  a 
wife  of  a  Kantoon  by  her  husband  was  practically  un 
known;  but  when  thoroughly  authenticated  upon  the  evi 
dence  of  a  third  party,  this  crime  was  punished  by  the 
execution  of  the  wife — the  theory  being"  that  the  culprit 
was  more  rebuked  by  taking  from  him  the  partner  of  his 
life,  and  compelling  him  to  exist  alone,  than  in  any  other 
way.  As  he  coveted  death,  the  infliction  of  that  penalty 
upon  the  Kantoon  would  have  been  no  punishment  whr.t- 
ever.  Like  the  unfortunate  widows  of  India  before  the 
suttee  was  abolished,  all  wives  so  "extinguished"  made 


b«  MISSING. 

no  protest  whatever,  but  in  every  instance  recounted  to 
me,  went  to  their  deaths  joyfully,  because  of  the  unhappi- 
ness  and  remorse  they  believe.d  their  absence  would 
bring  to  the  widowers. 

This  real  touch  of  femininity  interested  me  very 
much. 

The  method  of  inflicting  the  sentence  of  death  for 
crime  was  very  curious.  The  hands  and  feet  of  the  con 
demned  were  drawn  together  backward,  so  that  the  body 
took  the  form  of  a  capital  D.  The  man  about  to  die 
was  then  affectionately  kissed  upon  the  forehead  by  all 
his  comrades,  and  while  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company 
chanted  a  dirge,  the  two  men  most  beloved  by  him  tossed 
the  condemned  into  the  sea. 

To  fall  overboard  generally  meant  death,  because 
rescue  by  any  other  ship  was  forbidden,  and  no  derelict 
was  allowed  to  take  such  an  unfortunate  on  board.  If 
the  wretched  man  could  not  regain  his  own  ship  he 
submitted  quietly  to  the  inevitable  end. 

Death,  which  ends  all  in  Sargasso,  as  elsewhere,  was 
so  familiar  to  these  people  that  tokens  of  sorrow  were 
never  worn.  They  met  it  fearlessly  and  without  protest, 
believing  that  when  their  bodies  were  committed  to  their 
beloved  mother,  the  Sea,  the  joys  of  eternal  rest  began. 
Children  were  taught  that  mermaids  met  the  sinking 
bodies  and  tenderly  bore  them  to  coral  grottoes,  where 
they  rested  forever  in  peace  under  the  watchful  guard 
ianship  of  the  Greatest  of  all  Kantoons,  who  rules  the 
universe  as  he  does  the  Sargasso  Sea,  and  who  never  more 
would  summon  them  to  duty  or  to  care. 

Of  course,  the  Sargassons  knew  not  care,  but  thought 
they  did, 


COOKING  FOR  ALL. 


CHAPTER  X. 

COOKING  FOR  ALL. 

Day  by  day  the  Kantoon's  heart  softened  toward  me. 
The  performance  of  my  executive  duties  about  the  ship 
occupied  my  mind,  and  assisted  greatly  in  reconciling  me 
to  my  enforced  absence  from  my  native  land.  The  pres 
ence  of  Fidette  had  much  more  than  all  things  else  to  do 
with  my  contentment  of  mind.  One  of  the  pleasantest  of 
my  daily  tasks  was  to  keep  guard  over  her  while  she  took 
her  morning  swim.  Armed  with  a  long  pole,  at  the  end 
of  which  was  fixed  a  very  large  knife,  ground  to  sharp 
ness  of  both  sides,  I  swung  over  the  side  of  the  ship 
upon  a  broad  board,  suspended  much  as  is  a  painter's 
scaffolding.  Upon  this  I  walked  back  and  forth,  with 
the  heavy  spear  poised  in  such  a  way  that  I  could  hurl  it 
at  a  shark  and  prevent  the  endangering  of  my  pretty 
sweetheart's  life.  A  section  of  the  sod  twenty  feet  square 
had  been  hewn  away  at  the  side  of  the  ship,  disclosing 
beneath  the  clear,  warm  water  of  the  mid- Atlantic.  Into 
this  bottomless  tank  Fidette  would  dive  from  the  window 
of  her  stateroom.  She  usually  spent  an  hour  at  her  bath, 
and  then,  seizing  a  knotted  rope,  she  would  climb  back 
into  the  vessel,  and  into  the  same  window  from  which  she 
had  emerged. 

Thus,  for  weeks,  the  monotonous  routine  of  my  life 
continued.  I  passed  as  much  of  my  time  in  Fidette's 
company  as  possible.  The  Kantoon's  threat  had  not  been 
carried  out.  On  several  occasions  we  had  dined  together, 


70  MISSING, 

and,  after  the  pretty  Sargasson  fashion,  she  had  fed  me 
with  her  own  fingers  from  a  bowl  of  seaweed  pudding. 

An  incident  of  importance  about  this  time  was  my 
visit  to  the  great  floating  kitchen,  to  which  I  have  here 
tofore  referred.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  I  was  not 
trusted  to  make  this  journey  until  I  had  shown  by  my 
conduct  that  I  was  wholly  reconciled  to  my  Sargasson 
surroundings.  The  distance  was  not  great,  and,  having 
learned  in  my  boyhood  to  wield  the  paddle  with  clever 
ness,  I  found  no  difficulty  in  performing  my  share  of  the 
work. 

Armed  with  a  formal  requisition  from  our  Kantoon 
for  the  week's  supply  of  cooked  food  for  the  cantonment 
of  the  Happy  Shark,  we  set  out.  This  demand  was  in 
scribed  upon  a  tarpon's  scale  with  a  shark's  tooth.  The 
character  and  the  amounts  of  the  supplies  were  to  me 
undecipherable,  because  of  the  peculiar  hieroglyphics  in 
which  they  were  written.  We  occupied  the  leading  boat, 
being  accompanied  by  ten  others,  fully  manned,  in  which 
the  week's  supply  of  provisions  would  be  brought  back. 

We  set  out  at  sunrise  and  pulled  steadily  along  the 
Grand  Canal  for  two  hours.  This  was  a  trip  of  great 
interest  to  me.  For  the  first  time  I  enjoyed  the  oppor 
tunity  of  seeing  the  other  ships  of  the  floating  community 
close  at  hand,  and  of  studying  the  faces  of  their  inhabit 
ants. 

I  had  decided  before  wre  had  passed  a  dozen  ships 
that  our  crew  was  in  many  ways  superior  to  most  of  the 
others,  and  that,  if  I  had  to  spend  the  rest  of  my  days 
among  the  Sargassons,  I  had  been  quite  fortunate  in 
landing  upon  the  Happy  Shark. 

I  felt  very  sad  when  we  passed  the  Caribas.  I 
found  her  moored  in  a  new  slip,  cut  for  her  reception  in 
the  floating  debris.  Several  chains  had  been  cast  over  the 
bow  and  stern,  attaching  her  to  stumps  and  trees  firmly 
imbedded  in  the  surrounding  sod.  I  scrutinized  the  dear 
old  craft  thoroughly.  Nothing  was  changed  about  her. 


COOKING  FOR  ALL.  71 

It  was  a  mere  fancy,  but  I  imagined  that  she  knew 
me! 

On  her  deck  were  strange  faces,  all  bearing  the 
stamp  of  the  Sargasson  race.  I  was  curious  to  learn  who 
was  occupying  my  cabin  and  sleeping  in  my  berth,  but 
the  man  in  the  boat  with  me  could  not,  or  would  not, 
impart  any  information. 

We  reached  the  kitchen  ship  about  n  o'clock,  and 
I  was  soon  on  board. 

I  have  seen  many  strange  places  afloat  and  ashore, 
but  none  so  thoroughly  novel  as  was  that  vessel.  Its 
main  deck  contained  a  series  of  rude  furnaces  and  ovens, 
about  which  fifty  men  busied  themselves  preparing  the 
food  for  the  floating  city.  The  work  must  have  been 
very  warm  in  hot  weather  and  very  dangerous  to  health 
in  the  cold  season.  I  visited  the  lower  decks  and  wit 
nessed  the  reception  of  the  seaweed,  its  assortment  into 
fuel  and  food,  and  studied  every  stage  of  its  preparation 
for  the  messroom.  The  great  problem  on  board  that 
ship  was  the  procurement  of  fresh  water,  with  which  the 
cooking,  obviously,  had  to  be  done.  Several  large  con 
densers  were  set  up  ancl  ready  for  use,  but  I  could  not 
discover  that  fires  had  ever  been  built  under  them. 
Most  of  the  fresh  water  was  caught  from  the  skies  upon 
a  great  awning  of  shellacked  matting  suspended  over  the 
masts.  This  awning  was  concave  in  shape,  exceeding 
the  deck  area  of  the  vessel,  and  was  capable  of  catching 
a  great  deal  of  water  from  the  skies.  As  it  rained  every 
second  or  third  day,  and  the  downpour  sometimes 
equaled  an  inch  and  a  half  to  two  inches  in  half  an  (hour, 
as  shown  by  the  rain  gauge,  the  great  tanks  in  the  centre 
of  the  hulk  were  constantly  kept  filled. 

As  a  rule,  the  Sargassons  ate  only  one  meal  a  day. 
This  was  partaken  of  on  each  ship  in  two  messes,  one 
consisting  of  the  crew  ?nd  the  other  of  the  officers. 

The  Kantpon  of  the  Happy  Shark,  respecting  the 
fact  that  I  had  been  the  commander  of  the  Caribas,  al- 


72  MISSING. 

ways  insisted  upon  my  dining  with  his  daughter,  him 
self  and  first  and  second  mates.  The  service  was  of  the 
rudest  possible  character.  All  surrounded  a  large  por 
ridge  dish,  and  each  person  helped  himself  or  herself 
therefrom.  When  the  number  of  persons  about  to  dine 
exceeded  five  or  six  there  were  two  bowls  or  more  of 
this  glutinous  material.  One  fish  was  always  regarded 
as  a  portion.  The  fish  were  laid  upon  the  deck  on  the 
usual  strip  of  matting,  and  each  diner  helped  himself  or 
herself. 

As  I  have  stated,  fish  formed  a  staple  article  of  diet, 
and  it  was  prepared  very  much  as  dried  herrings  are 
put  up  in  the  English  seaport  towns.  Long  rows  of 
men  were  seen  cleaning  and  dressing  the  fish,  which 
were  then  placed  in  an  oven,  through  which  hot  air  from 
the  furnaces  passed.  Thus  they  were  slowly  dried,  like 
our  dessicated  fruits  in  the  United  States.  The  oil  was 
rendered  out,  and  found  its  way  to  a  tank,  where  it  was 
kept  for  greasing  shark  and  porpoise  leather. 

In  this  floating  kitchen  I  discovered  an  article  of 
diet  I  had  never  before  encountered.  It  was  a  sort  of 
wild  rice  or  wheat,  that  was  boiled  in  the  grain  and  then 
hastily  dried.  In  this  condition  it  would  keep  for  years. 
I  afterward  became  very  fond  of  this  food,  and  was  sur 
prised  to  learn  that  it  was  not  liked  on  board  the  Happy 
Shark.  It  had  the  taste  of  parched  corn,  upon  which  I 
know  the  soldiers  in  our  armies  had  sustained  life  for 
months  together. 

The  equipment  of  the  cook  ship  was  kept  up  by  de 
tails  of  men  sent  from  time  to  time  from  the  various 
communities.  Btit  some  of  the  older  men  had  grown 
very  expert,  and  occasionally  concocted  special  dashes 
for  the  Kantoon  of  the  vessel  from  which  they  had  been 
originally  drafted,  hoping  in  this  way  to  ingratiate  them 
selves  with  him. 

For  example,  a  most  delicious  soup  was  made  from 
barnacles.  A  bucketful  of  these  small  shellfish  would 


COOKING  FOR  ALL.  73 

be  scraped  from  the  side  of  a  vessel  or  from  floating  .ogs, 
carefuly  washed  and  then  boiled  in  several  waters.  In 
taste  this  soup  was  very  much  like  rich  clam  broth.  Of 
course,  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  hot,  away  from  the  cook 
ship,  for  the  reason  that  fires  were  prohibited  upon  any 
of  the  other  vessels.  Yet  this  rule  was  often  broken,  as 
we  shall  see. 

While  I  was  inspecting  the  ship,  our  men  were  load 
ing  the  fleet  of  boats  that  had  accompanied  us,  and 
early  in  the  afternoon  our  return  journey  began.  After 
a  long  and  laborious  tug  at  the  paddle  we  reached  the 
Happy  Shark,  in  the  darkness,  and  were  welcomed  back 
with  a  wild,  weird  chant.  In  this  the  Kantoon  joined, 
and,  rising  sweetly  above  all  the  singers,  I  readily  dis 
tinguished  the  rich,  musical  voice  of  Fidette,  welcoming 
me  home  again. 

Where  separation  is  so  unusual,  and,  from  the  very 
necessity  of  circumstances,  people  are  compelled  to  live 
in  such  close  and  constant  association,  absence  of  a  day 
or  more  over  the  ship's  side  seems  a  much  more  impor 
tant  event  than  it  otherwise  would, 


74 


CHAPTER  XL 

"MUSIC  HATH  CHARMS." 

Fidette  and  I  had  a  very  pretty  habit  of  climbing  far 
out  upon  the  bowsprit  of  the  Happy  Shark,  although 
clearly  under  the  observation  of  every  man  on  deck,  and 
sitting  there  for  hours  dangling  our  feet  in  the  water 
among  the  anemones  and  jellyfish. 

On  the  evening  of  my  return  we  had  taken  our 
places  as  usual  end  were  engaged  in  a  serious  conversa 
tion  regarding  our  future. 

In  Sargasso,  the  prospective  bride  is  rarely  con 
sulted  regarding  the  date  of  the  wedding.  But  I  d:d  not 
want  the  rule  to  be  followed  in  Fidette's  case.  I  real- 
ized  that  with  her  beauty,  the  commanding  position  of 
her  father,  and,  above  all,  the  discreet  instructions  she  had 
received  from  her  mother,  Fidette  had  probably  had 
other  experiences  of  the  heart  before  my  lot  was  cast 
with  hers. 

On  this  evening,  therefore,  I  determined  to  make 
the  condition  of  my  feelings  toward  Fidette  perfectly 
clear,  to  assure  her  of  my  unbounded  love,  and,  if  pos 
sible,  to  get  her  to  fix  a  day  when,  we  should  be  mated. 

I  began  by  asking  her  if  she  were  entirely  heart  free, 
and  was  assured  that  such  was  the  case. 

"I  did  love  once,"  Fidette  said,  looking  me  frankly 
in  the  eyes  and  taking  my  hand  as  she  spoke.  "The 
young  man  was  the  son  of  an  exiled  Portuguese  mar- 


MUSIC  HATH  CHARMS.  75 

shal,  and  had  been  condemned  to  penal  servitude  in  the 
Azores  for  some  political  crime.  He  made  his  escape 
in  a  small  boat  with  his  father,  hoping  to  be  picked  up 
at  sea.  Their  provisions  were  lost  overboard.  The 
poor  father  went  crazy  from  hunger  and  thirst,  and, 
throwing  himself  into  the  sea,  was  drowned.  The  son 
became  unconscious,  and,  after  drifting  about  for  several 
days,  his  boat  was  captured  and  brought  to  Sargasso, 
where  the  stranger  was  adopted  by  one  of  the  Kantoons." 

"How  was  it  that  his  life  was  spared?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  his  case  was  somewhat  similar  to  yours.  His 
life  was  not  forfeited  because  he  had  not  come  with  any 
purpose  of  conquest.  His  addition  to  our  numbers  was 
an  accident,  an  entirely  unsought  incident  in  his  life. 
He  was  very  handsome,  very  tall  and  very  dark." 

"How  did  you  meet  each  other?"  I  inquired,  al 
though  I  had  no  intention  of  becoming  a  jealous  inquis 
itor. 

"Do  you  notice  that  large  space  of  open  water  on 
our  right,  about  midway  between  this  ship  and  the  next 
one?" 

"Yes,  I  do,"  was  my  reply.  "I  have  often  wondered 
why  the  sod  has  not  covered  it!" 

"One  of  the  finest  vessels  of  our  community;  floated 
there  from  the  earliest  period  of  my  recollection  until 
about  six  months  before  you  came,"  continued  Fidette, 
thoughtfully. 

I  now  noticed  that  her  face  had  taken  on  an  ex 
pression  of  sadness  I  never  had  observed  before. 

"It  was  one  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  ships,  that  had 
been  abandoned  in  the  north,  had  drifted  southward  until 
it  was  melted  free  from  the  encircling  ice  floe  by  the 
Gulf  Stream,  and  found  a  haven  here  with  us.  This  was 
long  years  before  I  came  into  the  world,  but  I  have 
heard  the  story  from  my  dear  mother's  lips  many  times, 
and  I  remembered  the  ship  very  well.  On  the  Royal 
George  the  stranger  found  an  asylum.  He  was  so  quiet 


76  MISSING. 

and  reserved  that  he  attracted  no  attention  whatever  in 
the  community  for  several  months.  One  day,  however, 
he  came  from  the  Kantoon  of  his  own  ship  to  deliver  an 
official  communication  to  my  father.  I  was  seated 
just  where  we  are  now.  Our  eyes  met.  It  was 
a  case  of  love  at  first  sight  for  both  of  us,  and  al 
though  we  found  no  opportunity  or  pretext  to  speak  on 
this  occasion,  I  did  not  let  the  second  visit,  which  oc 
curred  within  a  week,  pass  without  affording  him  an  ex 
cuse  to  address  me.  I  presented  him  the  sprig  of  bay  in 
token  of  my  admiration,  and,  although  he  did  not  under 
stand  its  full  purport,  he  graciously  replied  in  Portuguese, 
conveying  his  thanks.  I  speak  only  French,  and,  there 
fore,  was  compelled  to  murmur  my  appreciation  of  his 
words  in  that  language.  The  young  man  replied  in 
French,  and  we  stood  chatting  at  this  side  of  the  com- 
panionway  some  little  time.  Fortunately,  the  visit  of  his 
executive  officer  to  my  father  was  of  longer  duration  than 
usual.  The  young  Portuguese  carried  back  with  him 
triumphantly  the  sprig  of  green,  and  that  act  was  the 
cause  of  much  grief  to  us  and  of  his  subsequent  destruc 
tion.  Unwittingly,  I  destroyed  the  very  life  that  I  was 
interested  in  perpetuating.  But  of  that  I  will  tell  you 
later." 

"What  was  his  name?" 

"Don  Fernandex  Otranto,"  replied  Fidette.  "He 
had  been  educated  in  Paris  and  at  Heidelberg,  and  his 
German  schooling  was  responsible  for  the  fact  that  he 
was  an  expert  performer  upon  the  trombone.  I  had 
never  heard  of  such  an  instrument,  and  never  knew  what 
form  it  took.  But  I  know  that  it  is  very  sonorous  and 
loud,  because  on  our  sacred  days  he  often  played  for  me 
upon  this  pipe,  while  I  sat  here,  as  we  sit  now,  listening 
in  enraptured  fashion  to  its  notes.  Many  of  the  beautiful 
arias  were  familiar  to  me  because  they  had  been  taught 
me  by  my  pretty  mother,  who  sang  well  and  played  the 
mandolin  to  perfection.  It  became  a  source  of  great  joy 


MUSIC  HATH  CHARMS.  77 

to  my  heart  to  hear  Fernandez  play.  I  contrived  to  com 
municate  this  to  him  during1  his  visit  to  our  ship,  and, 
after  that,  at  nightfall,  he  always  played  a  few  bars  from 
the  national  hymn  of  his  beloved  country.  It  became  as 
the  Angelus  to  me,  for  my  mother  had  been  a  good  Chris 
tian  in  her  early  days,  and  never  overcame  the  inspira 
tion  that  the  sunset  bell  had  had  upon  her  in  girlhood!" 

"You  told  me  that  the  sprig  of  bay  given  the  visitor 
by  you  was  the  cause  of  dire  disaster,"  I  suggested.  "How 
was  that?" 

"On  the  ship  where  he  dwelt  the  Kantoon  had  a 
daughter  older  than  myself,  but  deformed  and  homely," 
replied  Fidette,  slowly  and  solemnly.  "She  was  a  fright — 
not  that  I  ever  saw  her,  for,  with  the  single  exception  of 
my  visit  to  the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire  to  make  my  vows, 
I  have  never  been  a  ship's  length  distant  from  the  Happy 
Shark.  But  I  know  that  she  must  have  been  homely. 
She  conceived  a  violent  passion  for  Fernandez,  which  I 
am  sure  he  did  not  reciprocate.  Of  course,  he  could  not 
prevent  her  loving  him,  could  he?" 

"Certainly  not,"  I  hastened  to  reply. 

"Well,  when  he  returned  to  the  Goo-ge-Goo,  or 
Green  Octopod"  (as  the  Royal  George  had  been  rechris- 
tened),  "the  miserable  girl  detected  the  sprig  of  bay  that 
Fernandez  still  clutched  in  his  hand.  She  said  nothing, 
and,  as  the  unfortunate  young  man  did  not  then  suspect 
her  love  for  him,  of  course  he  was  unaware  that  the  token 
had  roused  her  jealousy.  She  had  him  spied  upon.  She 
corrupted  the  executive  officer  of  her  father's  ship,  who 
always  accompanied  Fernandez  on  his  official  visits  to 
my  father,  and  as  a  result  the  fact  of  our  meetings  was 
made  known,  and,  indeed,  parts  of  our  conversation  were 
repeated  to  the  vixenish  creature.  Our  dreams  of  bliss, 
all  the  sweeter  because  our  meetings  were  stolen,  ended 
with  a  terrible  catastrophe. 

"One  morning  I  arose  with  the  sun,  and,  as  was  my 
custom,  hurried  upon  deck  and  looked  out  to  the  north- 


78  MISSING. 

ward  toward  Fernandez's  ship.  It  had  disappeared.  Th« 
sea  had  swallowed  it  during  the  night.  Not  a  trace  re 
mained  or  a  sign  that  it  had  ever  existed,  beyond  that 
space  of  open  water  you  see  before  you!  Far  down, 
down,  down,  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean  sank  the  Green 
Octopod,  with  every  soul  on  board  of  her.  So,  in  the 
frankness  of  my  heart,  I  have  told  you  how  I  have  loved 
and  been  loved." 

There  are  mean  traits  latent  in  our  natures.  I  am 
ashamed  to  say  this  pathetic  tale  did  not  evoke  in  my 
heart  any  disposition  to  give  vent  to  tears.  I  felt  no 
particular  regret  that  the  trombone  player  had  gone  to 
feed  the  fishles  in  the  mid-Atlantic.  Candidly,  I  had 
almost  as  much  aversion  for  him  as  Fidette  had  confessed 
for  the  humpbacked  girl  who  had  stolen  her  lover  from 
her,  and  who  had  undoubtedly  scuttled  the  ship  when  she 
found  she  was  going  to  lose  him.  What  if  he  had 
escaped?  Was  he  a  good  swimmer?  Fidette  didn't 
know.  The  very  ethics  of  the  Sargassons  would  prevent 
him  from  declaring  himself  to  his  former  sweetheart. 
Brief  as  had  been  his  stay  among  these  people,  he  would 
know  that  to  save  his  life  would  be  regarded  as  an  act 
of  cowardice,  for  when  one's  ship  had  reached  the  end 
of  its  career  every  soul  on  board,  of  her  must  die  perforce. 
But,  poor  chap,  he  had  been  in  love,  and  that  excused 
anything. 

Fidette's  story  of  the  first  awakening  of  love  in  her 
heart  had  thrown  us  both  into  a  very  thoughtful  mood. 
Now  that  I  am  calmer  and  look  back  upon  the  incident, 
I  see  how  ridiculous  was  my  assumption  of  heart-who'e 
superiority  to  her.  Although  I  did  not  permit  the  truth 
to  find  place  in  my  memory  just  at  that  time,  I  can  now 
recollect  more  than  half  a  dozen  episodes  in  my  earlv 
life  wherein  I  was  as  badly  smitten  as  poor  Fidette  had 
been. 

I  sat  moodily  gazing  down  into  the  water  and  watching 
Fidette's  little  pink  feet  toying  with  the  jellyfish  and  the 


MUSIC  HATH  CHARMS.  79 

sea  urchins.  Her  gaze  was  to  the  northward— toward 
but  far  beyond  the  spot  at  which  had  rested  the  dwelling 
place  of  her  first  lover.  She  was  in  a  reverie.  I  watched 
her  face  closely,  taking  one  of  her  dainty  hands  in  both  of 
mine,  and,  apparently  unnoticed  by  her,  pressing  it  to  my 
lips.  Hardly  a  breath  of  air  was  moving,  and  the  inde 
scribable  silence  of  the  Sargasso  Sea  hovered  over  us. 

Suddenly  Fidette's  face  became  transfigured.  The 
pupils  of  her  dark  eyes  dilated,  the  rosy  blush  of  joy 
suffused  her  cheeks.  I  detected  the  slightest  possible 
stiffening  of  the  neck  and  elevation  of  the  chin.  She 
was  listening.  She  changed  her  gaze  toward  the  west 
ward,  and  fixed  it  there.  Her  lips  slightly  parted,  then 
broke  into  a  smile  of  inexpressible  happinesss. 

Gently  she  withdrew  her  hand  from  my  grasp.  She 
had  forgotten  my  presence;  now  she  intentionally  ignored 
me. 

Across  the  waste  of  water  and  drift  came  to  my  ears 
a  sound  so  shudder-inspiring  that  I  in  turn  forgot  Fi- 
dette.  It  was  unlike  any  of  the  strange  noises  sometimes 
heard  in  the  wakeful  watches  of  the  Sargasson  night,  de 
fying  rational  explanation.  It  was  music — demon  music! 
I,  too,  put  my  ears  apeak,  and  I  needed  not  to  listen  long: 
to  detect  in  slow  and  plaintiff  measure  the  rhythm  of  the 
Portuguese  national  hymn. 

Fidette's  face  told  me  the  rest.  Her  first  lover  was 
alive. 

The  trombone  player  had  escaped, 


80  MISSING, 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AGONY  OF  A  JEALOUS  HEART. 

I  always  disliked  the  trombone. 

Fidette  remained  in  the  same  ecstatic,  absent-minded 
condition  until  we  separated — I  to  pass  a  most  wretched 
and  unhappy  night. 

Alone  with  my  thoughts,  I  marveled  at  the  complete 
possession  that  this  pretty  Sargasson  girl  had  obtained  of 
my  heart,  and  realized  that  I  must  decide  promptly 
whether  I  meant  to  continue  the  contest  for  her  affection 
or  surrender  to  an  unknown  and  unseen  rival.  This 
latter  proposition  was  too  repugnant  to  be  considered. 

Evidently  this  Portuguese,  this  Fernandez,  was  un 
worthy  of  Fidette.  By  every  token  he  ought  to  have  been 
dead.  If  his  vessel  had  been  scuttled,  as  Fidette  believed 
it  had  been,  it  was  his  duty  to  have  gone  down  with  the 
ship.  If  he  were  a  brave  man  and  worthy  of  a  good  girl's 
love,  he  would  be  dead;  the  very  fact  that  he  was  still 
alive,  and  playing  the  infernal  instrument,  was  proof  posi 
tive  that  he  was  a  cowardly  fellow,  unworthy  of  any  wom 
an's  love. 

This  logic  suited  me  down  to  the  ocean's  bed,  for  I 
had  developed  a  violent  aversion  to  this  man,  although  I 
never  had  known  of  his  existence  prior  to  that  night. 

The  serious  problem  with  me,  however,  was — Did 
Fidette  really  love  him? 

A  young  girl  manifests  her  affection  for  a  man  in 
such  an  unmistakable  manner  that  even  a  child  can  read 
her  thoughts  and  look  into  her  heart.  One  does  not 
have  to  go  to  the  Sargasso  Sea  to  understand  what  I 


A G ONY  OF  A  JEAL  0  US  HEART.  81 

mean.  In  all  ranks  of  society  the  maidenly  heart  is  very 
much  alike,  prior  to  the  time  that  its  possessor  has  learned 
the  art  of  dissembling. 

Fidette  had  been  in  love  before  and  was  ingenuous 
enough  to  confess  and  to  confirm  it  by  unfeigned  exhi 
bition  of  joy.  Had  sbs  been  an  American  city  girl,  she 
probably  might  have  affected  an  indifference  upon  the  re 
turn  to  life  of  her  former  admirer — but  she  was  simply  a 
natural  woman.  Too  natural ! 

Ah,  but  her  heart  was  au  naturel?  What  a  comfort 
was  that  thought! 

Tossing  out  a  sleepless  night,  I  was  on  deck  at  the 
first  appearance  of  dawn,  and  scanned  the  horizon  to  the 
westward  in  search  of  the  ship  upon  which  the  mysterious 
trombone  player  had  taken  refuge.  Not  a  vessel  was  in 
sight!  I  reasoned  with  myself  that  perhaps  we  had  been 
deceived  by  our  imaginations — that  we  had  not  heard  the 
music.  Assuming  that  the  man  existed,  that  the  trom 
bone  had  ben  played,  we  might  have  been  the  victims 
of  an  echo,  because  there  was  no  vessel  to  the  westward! 

My  duties  about  the  ship  employed  every  moment  of 
my  time  until  early  afternoon.  I  then  ventured  to  call 
upon  Fidette.  She  received  me  coldly.  Her  entire  man 
ner  indicated  that  she  was  indifferent  to  any  further  at 
tentions  from  me. 

Stunned  by  her  reception,  I  had  the  audacity  to  taunt 
her  about  her  lover.  I  showed  her  the  ill  logic  of  his 
being  alive — developing  the  thought  far  more  fully  than 
had  been  done  above.  In  vehement  words  I  abused  the 
fellow  for  being  alive  at  all,  declaring  that  it  was  hi£ 
bounden  duty  never  to  have  reappeared  in  Fidette's  path. 

"If  he  be  not  a  spook,  or  a  Flying  Dutchman,  but  a 
man  of  flesh  and  blood  who  cares  for  you  and  respects 
you,  he  would  have  boarded  your  father's  vessel  before 
this  time,  in  order  that  you  might  enjoy  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him  again,"  I  said  jibingly. 

"He  would  have  done  nothing  of  the  sort,"  was  Fi- 


83  MISSING. 

dette's  firm  reply.  "What  do  you  know  about  our  social 
customs?  We  are  on  the  eve  of  the  'Week  of  Silence' — 
our  great  festival  of  the  year.  Fernandez  and  I  must  not 
meet  until  after  the  expiration  of  that  gala  period.  Our 
minds  would  not  be  properly  prepared  for  its  joyous  sol 
emnities.  But  don't  you  worry;  Fernandez  shall  dance 
the  Bamboola  with  me  at  the  end  of  the  week." 
Ah!  but  I  did  worry, 


'THE  WEEK  OF  SILENCE."  83 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"THE   WEEK   OF    SILENCE." 

The  Sargasson  method  of  taking  rest  was  peculiar. 

Absolute  inactivity  was  to  them  the  wildest  excite 
ment.  It  represented  their  daily  life  of  anxiety  and  the 
constant  menace  to  death.  On  the  other  hand,  dancing 
and  carousing  brought  to  them  perfect  rest 

The  first  day  of  the  "Week  of  Silence"  opened  with  a 
wildly  hilarious  dance,  entitled  "The  Glorification  of  the 
Sun."  In  common  with  all  the  members  of  the  Commun 
ity,  I  was  awakened  at  3  o'clock.  I  dressed,  and  made  my 
appearance  upon  the  deck.  There  I  found  the  entire 
ship's  company  drawn  up  in  line,  each  man  standing  upon 
a  mass  of  freshly  gathered  seaweed,  stil  damp  with  the 
ocean's  brine.  They  all  faced  the  east,  where  signs  of 
the  coming  day  already  could  be  detected. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  great  golden  orb  appeared  above 
the  horizon  the  ship's  company  broke  into  a  hymn. 

The  music  was  in  the  minor  key,  and  of  a  weird, 
monotonous  character.  The  singing  lasted  for  ten  min 
utes,  after  which  followed  the  Sun  dance,  in  which  every 
body  joined.  It  was  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Roger  de  Coverley,  and  was  accompanied  by  singing  on 
the  part  of  the  dancers,  that  being  the  only  music  to  which 
the  feet  of  the  dancers  moved.  The  time  was  accentuated 
by  the  clapping  of  hands.  A  small  wicker  platter  of  shell 
fish  was  then  handed  around,  each  person  taking  one  of 


84  MISSING. 

the  scallops  in  his  fingers  and  eating  it.  The  dish  was 
passed  and  repassed,  and  many  times  replenished,  until  all 
had  heartily  feasted.  Then  everybody  was  sent  to  quar 
ters,  and  the  sleep  of  one  week  began. 

This  sleep  is  to  the  Sargassons  the  supreme  idea  of 
excitement.  It  is  indecorous  to  awaken  until  the  Kan- 
toon  of  the  ship  has  himself  arisen  and  summoned  has 
cheif  officers. 

Fidette  had  not  appeared  during  the  morning  cere 
mony.  She  watched  the  sun  rise,  however,  from  the  win 
dow  of  her  own  cabin,  and  was  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  ceremony.  She  composed  herself  to  rest 
contentedly,  doubtless  looking  forward  with  cheerful  an 
ticipation  to  "Bantang,"  or  the  "Day  of  the  Awakening," 
when  her  lover  would  be  permitted  to  call  upon  her. 

How  I  put  in  this  wek  of  misery,  I  can  hardly  find 
words  to  describe.  I  was  forbidden  to  move  about  the 
ship.  Never  having  been  a  heavy  sleeper,  I  awakened  on 
the  next  morning  and  found  that  the  Sargasson  cook  had 
very  thoughtfully  placed  a  dish  of  dried  berries  and  baked 
fish  at  the  door  of  my  stateroom.  This  thoughtfulness  I 
highly  apreciated,  because  I  knew  that  I  would  be  very 
hungry.  I  carefuly  divided  the  food  into  seven  portions, 
in  order  that  gluttony  might  not  get  the  better  of  me,  and 
cause  me  to  suffer  for  the  want  of  food  later  in  the  week. 

I  rose  as  usual  with  the  sun  on  the  following  morn 
ing,  and  carefully  tiptoed  to  the  upper  deck  in  order  to 
make  a  long  and  thorough  search  of  the  horizon,  in  the 
hope  that  I  may  detecte  the  smoke  of  some  passing  ves 
sel.  I  longed  for  the  companionship  of  men  who  be 
longed  to  the  real  world  that  I  feared  I  had  left  for  ever. 
Although  I  climbed  to  the  masthead,  my  search  was  in 
vain.  Not  a  moving  object  was  in  sight! 

I  could  and  would  have  escaped  had  I  not  been  in 
love  with  Fidette. 

The  description  of  one  day  will  answer  for  all  of 
those  that  succeeded  during  the  week  of  misery.  If  the 


"THE  WEEK  OF  SILENCE."  85 

incident  of  the  trombone  player  had  not  occurred  when  it 
did,  I  believe  I  could  have  occupied  my  mind  during  the 
entire  week  with  thoughts  of  Fidette.  But,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  I  was  torn  by  jealousy,  and  my  affection  for 
the  dear  girl  had  been  sorely  weakened.  Therefore,  I 
used  to  sit  for  hours  far  out  in  the  bowsprit,  as  it  surged 
in  and  out  the  swaying  sea,  and  rehearse  to  myself  again 
and  again  the  unhappy  incident.  There  was  an  unreality 
about  it  that  annoyed  me.  If  Fernandez  were  dead  some 
one  else  had  played  the  trombone.  Knowing  nothing  of 
Fernandez,  this  unknown  would  not  come  to  see  Fidette, 
and  I  could  easily  turn  the  girl's  mind  against  the  suppo&- 
itious  lover  when  he  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance. 

She  confidently  expected  me.  Now,  if  he  didn't 
come,  I  would  win  her! 

I  contrived  to  sleep  about  twelve  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four.  But  the  silence  and  the  loneliness  were  very 
oppressive. 

To  me,  of  course,  sleep  did  not  mean  excitement.  In 
the  long  voyages  I  had  made  I  had  grown  used  to  taking1 
very  little  sleep.  Besides,  I  was  very  anxious  for  Fidette 
to  wake  in  order  that  we  might  be  reconciled.  Several 
times  I  contrived  to  look  into  her  dainty  cabin  as  I 
pased  the  half-open  door,  but  she  lay  arrayed  like  a  bride 
on  her  pretty  couch,  apparently  in  a  stupor.  The  Sar- 
gassons  never  snore.  I  have  been  told  that  very  few  of 
them  ever  dream  dreams. 

Their  lives  are  so  romantic  in  themselves  that  they 
need  no  visions  in  their  sleep. 

Following  my  afternoon  nap,  I  generally  took  a  bath 
in  Fidette's  pond.  She  was  asleep,  and  I  did  not  there 
fore  intrude  upon  her  privileged  property. 

Almost  counting  the  hours,  the  dreary  week  wore 
away.  My  provisions  were  entirely  exhausted  by  the 
sixth  night,  economize  as  carefully  as  I  could. 

The  seventh  morning  broke  resplendently  beautiful. 
The  Kantoon,  awakened,  came  bounding  out  his  cabin 


86  MISSING. 

with  the  skill  of  an  acrobat,  sprang  into  the  air,  and 
alighted  neatly  in  the  cask  of  water  that  stood  awaiting 
him.  It  was  one  of  my  self-imposed  duties  of  "The  Week 
of  Silence"  to  keep  this  cask  filled  with  water.  In  the  Sar 
gasso  Sea  evaporation  is  so  rapid  that  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  contents  of  the  barrel  would  have  been  quite  ex 
hausted. 

The  magic  of  the  Kantoon's  voice  awakened  the  en 
tire  ship's  company.  He  gave  a  long,  sonorous  howl, 
which  was  the  signal  for  everybody  to  start  up  and  yawn. 

A  hearty  meal  was  then  served  upon  the  upper  deck, 
all  being  seated.  Waiters  were  unknown,  that  idea  never 
having  developed  in  the  Sargasson  mind.  The  food  had 
been  cooked  more  than  a  week  before  and  carefully 
stowed  away  in  a  water-tight  chest,  cast  overboard  to  keep 
fresh,  but  held  to  the  ship  by  a  strong  thong.  One  of 
the  first  acts  of  the  steward  was  to  drag  this  box  out  the 
water.  Most  of  the  men  partook  very  sparingly.  As 
for  Fidette,  she  ate  ravenously. 

As  I  said  before,  I  always  liked  the  frankness  of  this 
young  woman,  for  she  never  pretended  to  be  anything 
but  the  ingenuous  girl  she  was. 

Then  followed  the  closing  event  of  '"The  Week  of 
Silence,"  "The  Dance  of  the  Derelicts."  This  differed 
entirely  in  character  from  the  "Sun  Dance."  The  entire 
ship's  company  did  not  participate.  All  the  sailors  re 
mained  standing  respectfully  with  bared  heads  while  Fi 
dette  executed  a  difficult  and  rather  tedious  hornpipe. 
She  was  arrayed  in  a  curious  costume,  the  skirt  of  which 
was  woven  from  variegated  sea-grass,  hardly  reaching  to 
the  knees.  The  bodice  was  made  wholly  of  tarpon 
scales,  held  together  by  some  insoluble  gum.  How  beau 
tiful  were  her  arms  and  shoulders!  After  the  hornpipe 
followed  a  "walk  around."  Then,  offering  her  hands  to 
her  father  and  the  chief  mate,  the  three  skipped  around 
the  deck  in  a  most  hilarious  "razzle-dazzle"  manner. 

Not  a  smile  crossed  any  cheek  during  this  ceremony, 
which  the  Sargassons  regarded  as  wholly  religious.  ".The 


"THE  WEEK  OF  SILENCE."  87 

Dance  of  the  Derelicts"  is  a  public  manifestation  of  grati 
tude  to  the  Greatest  of  all  the  Kantoons  for  his  mercy  in 
permitting  the  Sargassons  to  have  survived  another  year. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  this  strange  people  are 
grateful  for  the  protecting  power  of  the  Most  High. 
They  really  appreciate  the  benefits  that  He  confers  in  al 
lowing  them  to  live  after  their  own  manner  and  under 
their  own  laws. 

To  their  way  of  thinking,  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
prosperity  among  the  Sargassons,  for  which  they  are 
properly  proud.  They  have  no  coin  or  medium  of  ex 
change,  except  sharks'  teeth  and  tarpon  scales,  but  these 
seem  to  serve  the  purpose  very  well. 

The  ceremonial  ended  as  it  had  begun — with  another 
feast. 

Just  as  the  long  sleep  throughout  "The  Week  of 
Silence"  had  been  to  the  Sargassons  a  continuous  vision 
of  the  wildest  excitement  and  a  foretaste  of  the  eternal 
bliss  of  the  sweet-water  heaven  they  all  hoped  to  attain, 
so,  antithetically,  was  "The  Dance  of  the  Derelicts,"  in 
which  they  found  no  pleasure  whatever,  a  solemn  re 
minder  of  the  cares  of  this  world. 

Fidette  showed  no  anxiety  to  see  or  to  converse  with 
me.  The  old  love  had  supplanted  the  new. 

On  that  night,  in  the  silence  of  the  midwatch,  I 
card  the  'cursed  trombone  again! 

"The  Week  of  Silence"  had  only  added  to  the  vigor 
and  strength  of  lung  that  the  player  exhibited. 

I  hoped  that  Fidette  was  asleep  and  would  not  hear 
her  lover's  signal. 

I  stole  stealthily  along  the  deck  and  looked  over 
the  ship's  side,  only  to  discover,  as  I  had  feared,  Fidette's 
pretty  head,  with  its  loosened  mass  of  dark  hair  falling 
in  profusion  about  her  bare  shoulders,  at  her  cabin  win 
dow.  I  was  glad  that  in  the  darkness  I  could  not  gaze 
upon  her  happy  face1  and  see  again  thereon,  that  smile  of 
ecstasy. 

There  was  murder  in  my  heart. 


88  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  KANTOON'S!  DISPLEASURE. 

At  an  early  hour  the  following  morning  the  Happy 
Shark  was  put  in  shipshape  for  the  reception  of  visitors. 
Several  boats'  crews  had  been  sent  during  the  night  to 
the  cook-ship,  and  had  returned  laden  with  provisions 
that  were  temptingly  placed  upon  a  large  table  on  the 
upper  deck;  but  neither  the  guests  nor  ourselves  were  ex 
pected  to  touch  the  food.  The  Sargassons  ring  a  new 
change  on  the  Barmecide's  feast.  Selfishness  with  them 
is  a  virtue.  Charity  begins  at  home. 

Very  soon  strangers  began  to  come  on  board.  It 
was  the  one  day  in  all  the  year  when  promiscuous  visiting 
among  the  members  of  the  communities  was  allowable. 
Of  course,  the  Kantoon  and  the  chief  executive  officers 
of  the  various  ships  visited  and  consulted  with  each  other 
when  occasion  required;  but  each  hulk  \vas  absolutely  the 
castle  of  its  commanding  Kantoon,  and  he  was  at  liberty 
to  punish  by  death,  if  necessary,  an  intruder  whose  pres 
ence  on  board  was  personally  distasteful  to  him. 

My  heart  beat  more  easily  as  the  long  hours  of  the 
forenoon  wore  away  without  a  visit  from  Fernandez.  But, 
early  in  the  afternoon,  a  small  boat  appeared  on  the 
Grand  Canal,  headed  in  our  direction,  and  I  instinctively 
felt  that  the  oarsman  in  front  was  my  hated  rival.  I  was 
right.  He  came  over  the  side  of  the  ship  in  a  jaunty 
manner,  appearing  quite  indifferent  about  the  character  of 


THE  EANTOON'S  DISPLEASURE.  89 

his  reception.  He  failed  to  send  the  customary  bluefish 
scale  to  the  Kantoon,  required  by  the  Sargasson  social 
code.  Whether  this  was  a  mere  oversight  or  a  bit  of 
bravado  on  Fernandez's  part  I  never  knew. 

It  certainly  gave  mortal  offense  to  Fidette's  father. 

Fernandez,  however,  did  not  seem  to  care  whether 
he  saw  anybody  or  not,  except  Fidette.  The  welcome  that 
he  received  from  her  was  effusive  to  a  degree  that  never 
could  be  equaled  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Seaweed  Sea. 
She  held  the  palms  of  her  hands  up  to  his  face  in  order 
that  he  might  kiss  them,  and,  as  he  threw  himself  into  a 
kneeling  posture  before  her,  she  seized  a  large  deck  bucket, 
always  filled  with  water,  and  emptied  its  contents  over  his 
head.  The  very  highest  type  of  courtesy  took  this  form. 

I  was  thrown  into  the  deepest  despondency,  forget 
ting  that  I  had  always  been  a  simple-minded  man  of  the 
world,  and  that  whatever  seemed  real  to  me  in  Sargasson 
life  was  absolutely  unreal. 

Fidette  was  dissembling! 

I  should  have  remembered  that  Fidette  had  never 
been  effusive  with  me,  and  that  what  we  call  affection, 
the  Sargassons  regard  as  dislike.  Deeply  as  Fidette's 
heart  had  been  touched  by  the  pathetic  strains  of  the  low- 
voiced  trombone,  the  thought  ever  present  to  her  that 
Fernandez  had  been  willing  to  live  when  the  blessing  of 
extinction  was  vouchsafed  to  him  brought  a  revulsion  of 
feeling  in  the  innocent  young  girl's  heart. 

Her  public  effusiveness  ought  to  have  shown  me  that 
she  despised  him!  But  I  was  so  ignorant.  In  outliving 
his  ship  he  had  outlived  her  love,  of  course.  If  he  had 
died  Fidette  would  have  cherished  his  memory  for  ever; 
but  being  alive,  when  he  ought  to  have  been  dead,  he  was 
out  of  the  court  of  love. 

Ah!  ignorance  is  never  bliss. 

During  the  long  interview  which  the  two  young  peo 
ple  had  together  I  busied  myself  in  other  parts  of  the 
ship.  I  was  conscious  of  the' fact  that  the  Kantoon  was 


90  MISSING. 

in  a  terrible  rage,  and  that  he  had  sent  for  his  first  of 
ficer,  who,  in  turn,  had  summoned  several  of  the  most 
trusty  men. 

The  visit  of  Fernandez  came  to  an  end.  He  was 
sent  away  with  most  affectionate  handshakings  and  ten 
der  looks,  these  only  serving  as  the  signal  for  his  destruc 
tion.  The  poor  fellow  walked  on  air,  so  happy  had  his 
welcome  and  tender  leave-taking  rendered  him.  He  was 
exuberant  in  his  manifestations  of  joy  and  pleasure.  As 
he  went  over  the  side  of  the  Happy  Shark,  to  descend 
into  the  boat  that  he  supposed  awaited  him,  he  stepped 
into  a  large  sack,  which  hung  suspended  and  open  to  re 
ceive  him.  The  top  was  deftly  gathered  up  and  tied, 
and  quicker  than  I  can  tell  it  the  bag  and  its  contents, 
heavily  weighted,  disappeared  under  the  surface  of  the 
sea. 

I  never  have  approved  of  murder.  But  down  in  my 
heart  I  was  glad  there  was  one  less  trombone  player,  and 
that  I  had  one  less  rival  for  the  affection  of  Fidette. 

An  hour  later  the  cruel  little  creature  was  sitting  by 
my  side  in  our  old  place  upon  the  bowsprit,  dangling  her 
little  pink  feet  in  the  water,  and  laughing  as  merrily  as  if 
her  unfortunate  lover  did  not  rest  at  that  moment  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Sargasso  Sea. 

She  assured  me  that  her  love  for  me  was  just  as 
steadfast  as  ever.  We  wound  our  arms  around  each 
other  like  two  sympathetic  octopods. 

And  yet  my  thoughts  constantly  reverted  to  Fernan 
dez. 

How  much  art  there  is  in  having  a  woman  throw  you 
overboard  at  the  right  time! 

The  achievement  is  hers;  the  consolation — yours. 


1HE  CHIN-QOONE  REVOLT.  91 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    CHIN-GOONE    REVOLT. 

The  act  of  the  Kantoon  of  the  Happy  Shark  in  or 
dering  the  summary  execution  of  my  rival  was  equivalent 
to  an  acknowledgment  of  my  acceptance  as  his  son-in- 
law. 

It  was  a  shock  to  me  that  Fidette  neither  expressed 
any  regret  nor  exhibited  any  remorse  at  the  untimely  fate 
of  the  Portuguese. 

A  round  of  strange  ceremnoies  then  began,  and  con 
tinued  for  a  month,  during  which  time  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  seeing  all  the  Sargasson  women.  At  a  regular 
hour  each  afternoon  they  called  in  small  groups  to  pay 
their  respects  to  the  prospective  bri:le.  I  could  not  imag 
ine  how  the  information  spread  so  rapidly  among  the 
communities.  It  seemed  impossible  that  messengers 
could  have  been  sent  from  ship  to  ship.  I  asked  Fidette 
about  it,  and  she  explained  that  when  a  daughter  of  a 
Kantoon  became  engaged  to  be  married  notice  was 
promptly  sent  to  the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire,  and  the 
Sacred  Light  was  flashed,  signalizing  the  event.  Every 
ship  had  a  number,  and  was  readily  indicated. 

But  how  was  the  news  transmitted  to  the  High 
Priest? 

That  was  a  mystery. 

Not  a  single  Sargasson  woman  came  on  board  the 
Happy  Shark  that  I  did  not  see  and  carefully  study.  With- 


92  MISSING. 

out  exception  they  were  all  undersized,  though  hardy 
speciments  of  humanity.  Their  complexions  were  nearly 
all  dark,  doubtless  owing  to  their  open-air  life,  and  to  the 
fact  that  they  never  failed  to  exhibit  their  reverence  for 
the  sun  by  passing  a  large  part  of  each  day,  with  uncov 
ered  heads,  directly  under  his  rays.  I  did  not  see  any 
woman  who  was  as  handsome  as  Fidette.  But  there 
were  many  pretty  faces  among  our  visitors. 

Their  dress  was  most  interesting  to  me.  Some 
times  it  consisted  merely  of  a  few  yards  of  sea-grass 
cloth,  tastefully  draped  about  their  figures.  In  other 
cases  the  wraists  were  made  by  gathering  up  a  strip  of  the 
same  material  at  the  neck  and  above  the  hips.  The  arms 
were  universally  bare.  Having  no  means  of  sewing,  as 
;we  understand  the  term,  the  Sargasson  women  only 
tied  or  pinned  their  garments  together.  In  the  associa 
tion  of  the  various  primitive  colors  that  the  sea-grass 
enabled  them  to  employ  they  were  very  skillful. 

There  wasn't  any  national  costume,  but  there  seemed 
to  be  uniformity  about  the  dressing  of  the  hair.  I  did 
not  observe  any  substantial  variation  from  one  form.  The 
women,  young  and  old,  wore  their  hair  long,  and  twisted 
it  into  a  hard  knot,  directly  on  top  of  their  heads,  where 
it  was  held  in  place  by  a  few  spines  from  the  fin  of  the 
shark.  These  made  very  satisfactory  hairpins.  In  addi 
tion  to  these  hair  ornaments,  the  women  frequently  wore 
one  vertebra  of  the  shark,  highly  polished  and  with  its 
appendant  rib.  I  never  understood:  the  significance  of 
that  adornment 

It  would  be  unfair  to  describe  any  one  type  of  Sar 
gasson  beauty.  As  I  have  said,  nearly  all  were  dark- 
skinned,  either  from  tan  or  by  inheritance.  I  saw,  how 
ever,  two  fair  Greek  girls  who  called  at  our  ship,  but  I 
was  unable  to  learn  from  Fidette  anything  of  their  his 
tory,  because  she  could  not  speak  Greek,  Turkish  or  Al 
banian,  and  the  white-faced  Greeks  were  not  conversant 
with  the  languages  of  Western  Europe.  These  two 


THE  CHIN-GOONE  REVOLT.  9S 

ladies  were  very  becomingly  dressed,  and  wore  the  only 
silk  draperies  that  I  saw  during  my  stay  in  Sargasso, 
Their  pretty  bodies  were  wound  in  long,  sleeveless  gar 
ments,  gathered  at  the  wrist  by  a  simple  cord.  They 
wore  in  their  hair,  instead  of  the  customary  shark  bone,  a 
sprig  of  sea  myrtle,  very  shiny  and  waxen. 

The  ladies  were  received  on  board  the  Happy  Shark 
with  much  ceremony.  They  were  formally  announced  in 
each  case;  the  fish  scale  of  pinkish  hue  was  sent  to  the 
daughter  of  the  Kantoon,  after  which  the  guests  were 
shown  into  the  cabin  and  remained  standing  during  the 
formal  interview,  when  the  congratulations  were  pre 
sented  and  acknowledged. 

The  entire  party  then  seated  themselves  and  began  to 
gossip — and  the  women  of  Sargasso  were  certainly  the 
peers  of  any  of  our  American  wives,  sisters  or  mothers 
in  that  social  art 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  justice  to  them,  that  this 
was  the  only  opportunity  during  many  months  when  they 
could  talk  over  their  neighbors'  affairs  together.  Every 
confidence  poured  into  the  ears  of  Fidette  was  dealt  out 
to  the  other  daughters  of  the  Kantoons  by  her  in  turn, 
rapidly  as  the  visitors  came,  strict  regard  being  had  to  ab 
solute  truthfulness.  The  result  was  that  little  harm  was 
done  to  anybody.  It  was  demonstrated  that  truthful 
gossip  does  no  injury.  This  chatter  served  to  sustain  mu 
tual  interest  in  each  other.  In  most  cases  the  gossip  was 
utterly  frivolous  and  harmless.  This  woman  told  Fidette 
about  the  illness  of  her  cherished  cray-fish ;  the  next  asked 
condolences  upon  the  death  of  her  pet  octopus. 

The  octopus  is  the  pug  dog  of  the  Sargasso!  The 
young  women  affect  and  cultivate  them  as  pets,  much  as 
our  American  girls  do  the  hideous,  black-nosed  pug  dog 
to  which  I  have  likened  them.  Indeed,  the  octopus  is 
quite  a  companionable  rnollusk,  once  you  understand 
him 

No  food  was  offered  the  visitors,  the  theory  being1 


9i  MKBIXQ. 

that  food  was  provided  in  common,  and  each  lady  could 
readily  obtain  it  on  board  her  own  ship.  Many  of  the 
women  had  a  fondness  for  schnapps,  and  inquired  of 
Fidette  if,  in  the  capture  of  my  ship,  anything  of  the  kind 
had  been  secured.  They  were  always  answered  nega 
tively. 

One  and  all  of  the  ladies,  as  they  took  their  departure 
from  the  cabin  were  received  on  deck  by  a  sturdy  sailor, 
before  whom  they  bowed  their  heads  respectfully,  and 
received  the  usual  baptism  of  a  bucket  of  sea  water. 

Drinking  water,  as  I  have  explained,  was  caught  in 
a  tarpaulin  roof  that  was  constantly  stretched  across  the 
deck.  When  a  small  cup  of  this  pure  liquid  was  handed 
to  the  visitor  she  was  expected  to  take  a  sip  of  it,  and 
then  playfully  to  toss  the  contents  into  the  face  of  her 
hostess,  accompanying  the  graceful  act  with  a  gleeful 
shout  of  laughter.  This  was  provocative  of  much  merri 
ment,  and  never  gave  offense. 

If,  during  any  of  these  visits,  a  rain  storm  came  up, 
the  ladies  were  never  asked  to  remain  on  that  account. 
Water  had  no  terrors  for  them.  Then,  of  course,  in  the 
canals  of  the  Sargasso  Sea,  one  had  not- any  great  fear 
of  the  waves. 

The  only  restriction  put  upon  Sargasson  femininity 
that  I  discovered  was  that  a  woman  must  not  weigh  over 
two  hundred  pounds.  If  she  developed  adipose  tissue 
exceeding  that  amount  she  was  unceremoniously  drowned. 
Under  such  circumstances  death  was  always  willirgly 
accepted  by  the  ladies  themselves.  They  had  little  fear 
of  death  at  any  time,  but  their  repugnance  to  obesity  was 
inborn;  the  old  women  all  possessed  anti-fat  remedies, 
the  formulae  of  which  they  imparted  to  their  daughters 
early  in  their  lives. 

During  this  "Month  of  The  Visitation"  I  one  day 
noticed  that  the  Kantoon's  face  bore  evidence  of  anxiety. 
He  believed  he  had  detected  spies  upon  his  vessel,  under 
the  guise  of  visitors.  He  was  right,  because  the  fame  of 


THE  CHIN-GOONE  REVOLT.  95 

Fidette's  beauty  had  spread  everywhere.  Who  had  cir 
culated  the  report?  Naturally  all  statements  made  by 
visitors  of  her  own  sex  pronounced  her  prim  and  homely. 
Already  there  were  rumors  of  a  social  revolt  against  Fi 
dette's  right  to  be  called  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the 
Community.  The  gossips  asserted  that  she  was  a  treach 
erous,  despicable  girl;  and  one  of  the  old  dames  even 
went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  Fidette  was  a  vampire,  and 
had  drunk  the  blood  of  her  lover  before  his  body  had 
been  thrown  unto  the  sea.  Indeed,  there  was  no  limit 
to  the  horrible  things  said  about  Fidette  by  the  women 
of  Sargasso. 

Knowing  Fidette's  gentle  character,  despite  the  man 
ner  in  which  she  had  allowed  her  father  to  summarily 
dispose  of  the  Portuguese  trombone  player,  I  gave  no 
heed  to  the  malicious  tales  put  in  circulation  by  the  gos 
sips  of  her  own  sex.  I  believed  her  to  be  gentle,  pure 
and  lovable.  As  our  engagement  was  now  acknowl 
edged,  Fidette  insisted  upon  my  saluting  her  with  a  kiss 
every  time  we  encountered  each  other  in  public.  She 
had  a  very  cunning,  and  to  me  attractive,  way  of  putting 
up  her  pouting  face  again  and  again,  as  she  accompanied 
the  act  by  saying  "More!"  and  "Encore!" 

The  real  cause  of  the  Kantoon's  anger  toward  Fer 
nandez  was  not  generally  apparent,  I  admit;  but  eventu 
ally  he  took  me  into  his  confidence. 

When  I  responded  to  his  invitation  to  meet  him  upon 
the  upper  deck  I  found  there,  as  a  special  mark  of  con 
fidence  and  favor,  a  second  barrel  of  sea  water  close  be 
side  the  Kantoon's  tub.  Understanding  at  a  glance  the 
delicate  character  of  the  tribute  paid  me,  I  clambered  into 
the  cask  without  waiting  to  have  it  suggested  to  me,  and 
we  stood  facing  each  other  in  our  respective  tubs  for 
several  hours,  going  over  the  offensive  rumors  that  had 
been  put  in  circulation  by  the  Sargasson  women,  and 
that  had  finally  reached  the  Kantoon's  ears. 

Then  we  discussed  my  future  and  Fidette's.    With- 


se  MISSING. 

out  attempting  a  reproduction  of  the  polyglottic  character 
of  the  Kantoon's  language,  the  following  may  be  set 
down : 

In  all  frankness,  he  began,  Fidette  had  made  a  mis 
take  in  preferring  me  to  the  Portuguese.  The  Kantoon 
(Fidette's  father)  was  the  son  of  an  Oporto  sailing  mas 
ter.  Fidette's  mother,  as  we  know,  was  a  New  Orleans 
Creole. 

The  propriety  of  the  lover's  taking  off  was  not  ques 
tioned  for  a  moment.  His  life  was  forfeit  by  the  Sar- 
gasson  code.  And  yet,  by  these  Sargasson  people,  the 
trombone  was  held  to  be  a  sacred  instrument,  and  this 
young  man  had  devoted  his  life  to  its  study.  It  was 
just  their  standard  of  music. 

The  Kantoon  informed  me  that  a  rebellion  was  fo 
menting,  the  first  that  had  occurred  since  the  great  Chin- 
Goone  outbreak  in  1816,  which  grew  out  of  a  concerted 
plot  on  the  part  of  200  Kantoons  to  organize  an  expedi 
tion  to  go  to  St.  Helena,  rescue  Napoleon  and  make  him 
the  Emperor  of  Sargasso. 

Napoleon  was  the  only  great  figure  in  history  thor 
oughly  known  and  respected  oy  the  Sargassons.  They 
regarded  him  in  much  the  same  light  as  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans  did  Hercules.  To  them  he  was 
rather  more  God  than  man.  His  imperious  and  impul 
sive  character  filled  them  with  the  wildest  admiration. 

When  these  200  Kantoons  organized  there  was  only 
one  fearless  young  commander,  Chin-Goone,  who  stub 
bornly  opposed  the  project.  He  did  not  want  Sargasro 
opened  to  the  world.  He  defied  the  entire  200!  Arme-1 
with  the  only  ship's  auger  in  the  community,  at  dead  of 
night  he  scuttled  100  ships  occupied  by  the  leaders  of 
the  Napoleonic  movement.  These  vessels,  their  Kan 
toons  and  their  crews  all  \vent  to  the  bottom. 

The  movement  failed,  and  for  one  year  this  young 
dare-devil  Kantoon  was,  apparently,  the  most  popular 
man  in  all  the  Community.  But  he  thoroughly  under- 


THE  CHIN-QOONE  REVOLT.  97 

stood  his  fate  under  the  Sargasson  law.  He  knew  that 
he  must  die  on  the  anniversary  of  his  act.  He  enjoyed 
himself  as  much  as  he  could,  and  when  the  day  arrived, 
accompanied  by  his  hardy  crew,  he  visited  the  stately 
vessel  of  the  High  Priest  and  submitted  quietly  and  with 
out  resistance  to  being  triced  up  and  cast  into  the  sea. 

Recurring  to  the  situation  that  confronted  us  now, 
the  Kantoon  was  very  grave,  and  said  that  the  entire 
company  »f  the  vessel  on  which  had  dwelt  Fidette's  late 
lover,  the  Portuguese,  had  risen  in  rebellion  because  of 
the*  young  man's  execution. 

They  had  secured  the  co-operation  of  twelve  other 
erews,  and  a  night  attack  for  the  abduction  of  Fidette 
and  her  summary  punishment  was  highly  probable. 

The  method  of  punishing  a  young  woman  who  had 
been  treacherous  to  her  lover  was  quite  peculiar.  The 
false  sweetheart  was  compelled  to  live,  but  lines  of  ago 
and  crows'  feet  were  tattooed  into  her  face.  Her  hair 
was  bleached  white,  like  an  old  woman's,  and  every 
vestige  of  her  youth  was  destroyed. 

Such  an  outrage,  of  course,  the  Kantoon  was  de 
termined  to  prevent,  and  I  was  quite  as  resolutely  op 
posed  to  it. 

We  agreed  to  double  the  watch,  and  to  be  prepared 
to  take  "boarders"  at  any  moment. 

Nights  of  sleepless  anxiety  followed. 

I  recollect  that  during  the  Virginius  troubles  we 
were  beating  down  the  Windward  Channel  one  Winter's 
night  on  board  the  United  States  frigate  Wabash.  I  was 
a  member  of  the  ship's  company.  We  had  been  at  sea 
for  several  weeks,  and  did  not  know  whether  or  not  war 
with  Spain  had  been  declared.  Suddenly,  in  the  moon 
light,  we  made  out  a  large  Spanish  man-of-war,  about 
one  mile  off,  on  our  starboard  bow.  The  men  were 
called  to  quarters.  The  decks  were  sanded  down.  The 
powder  magazine  was  opened,  and  every  gun  on  board 


98  MISSING. 

was  loaded  with  shell  or  solid  shot.  For  half  an  hour, 
in  the  silence  of  the  night,  every  man  stood  at  his  post, 
awaiting  a  signal  to  open  fire.  Even  the  surgeon  had  his 
knives,  his  saws  and  artery  forceps  ready  on  the  ward 
room  table. 

The  great  steel  ship,  that  could  have  sunk  our 
wooden  craft  in  a  minute's  time,  passed. 

Not  a  sound  on  board !  Not  a  moving  light!  Only 
silence — and  suspense. 


The  memory  of  that  moonlight  night  in  the  Wind 
ward  Channel  was  renewed  every  night  on  board  the 
Happy  Shark. 


THE  PAriER-MACHE  ORANGES.  09 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  PAPIER-MACHE  ORANGES. 

During  these  days  of  harrowing  suspense  I  saw 
much  of  Fidette. 

Together  we  had  walked  into  her  father's  cabin  one 
afternoon  and  she  was  showing  me  its  treasures.  In  an 
artistically  designed  hanging  basket  of  woven  sea  grass 
I  noticed  a  dozen  or  more  orange-like  spheroids,  quite 
resembling  the  fruit  in  shape  and  color.  I  at  first  mis 
took  •  hem  for  the  real  thing,  wondering  whence  they  had 
come.  But,  on  closer  inspection,  I  recognized  them  as 
specimens  of  detonating  bombs,  manufactured  in  Wil 
mington,  Del.,  and  used  upon  the  Fourth  of  July  and 
other  national  holidays  to  add  to  the  noise  and  the  enthu 
siasm  of  the  occasion. 

They  are  fired  from  small  mortars,  and  are  hurled 
to  a  great  height  in  the  air.  When  their  velocity  is  ex 
hausted  they  explode.  They  are  filled  with  charcoal  and 
a  fulminate  similar  to  that  with  which  percussion  caps 
are  charged.  They  are  the  most  dangerous  fireworks 
used,  and  the  manufacturer  will  only  sell  them  to  the 
most  experienced  exhibitors. 

A  terrible  experience  enabled  me  to  recognize  these 
deadly  missiles  at  a  glance.  Only  a  few  years  before  I 
had  been  bound  up  the  Delaware  to  Philadelphia  for 
charter  when  the  captain  decided  to  anchor  off  Wilming 
ton,  owing  to  fog,  and  I,  as  first  mate,  was  sent  ashore 
to  proceed  to  the  Quaker  City  by  train,  in  order  to  report 


100  MISSING. 

to  our  principals.  I  had  succeeded  in  finding1  the  mouth 
of  Brandywine  Creek,  and  was  rapidly  ascending  it 
toward  the  nearest  street  to  the  railroad  station,  when,  the 
mist  having  lifted,  I  saw  that  I  was  near  a  large  brick 
factory  at  which  fireworks  were  made.  The  exterior  of 
the  building  announced  the  fact  and  bore  the  name  of 
the  company. 

Just  as  I  was  passing  this  building,  that  faced  the 
little  creek,  a  terrific  explosion  occurred  within  its  walls. 
The  entire  side  of  the  structure  was  blown  out,  and  one 
unfortunate  man  was  hurled  almost  over  my  head  into 
the  water.  Believing  that  I  could  render  aid  to  the 
wounded — and  I  was  confident  there  must  be  many — 
I  told  my  men  to  land  me  at  the  little  wharf  near  the 
works,  and  hurried  into  the  building.  All  was  wreck 
and  confusion.  Two  dead  women  and  five  dead  men  lay 
about  the  room.  Almost  without  exception  they  were 
unscarred  and  appeared  to  have  died  from  concussion. 
In  a  box,  each  carefully  separated  by  a  layer  of  cotton, 
lay  several  hundred  of  these  papier-mache-encased  bombs. 

They  were  exactly  similar  in  color  to  those  I  saw 
before  me. 

Evidently  the  Kantoon  did  not  know  the  dangerous 
character  of  the  pretty  yellow  spheres  that  occupied  so 
prominent  a  place  in  his  quarters.  Just  at  this  moment 
the  good  man  entered,  and  I  asked  him  how  they  had 
come  into  his  possession. 

Taking  one  up,  playfully,  he  explained,  as  he  tossed 
it  about  from  one  hand  to  the  other,  that  they  had  been 
found  in  a  box  of  wreckage  that  had  floated  into  the  canal 
several  months  before,  and  had  been  picked  up  by  one  of 
his  boat  crews.  The  box  had  been  in  the  water  several 
menths,  but  it  was  hermetically  sealed. 

''Oh!  they  are  all  right,"  he  said,  carelessly. 

The  Kantoon  admitted  that  he  had  no  idea  to  what 
use  the  orange-hued  spheres  were  put  He  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  making  ink  from  their  contents,  which  Fi- 


THE  PAPIER-MACHE  ORANGES.  101 

dette  had  used  in  decorating  shells,  fish  scales  and  sharks' 
teeth. 

I  gently  took  the  small  sphere  from  the  Kantooivs 
fingers  and  replaced  it  in  the  basket,  telling  him  in  a  gen 
eral  way  that  harm  might  come  to  him  if  he  dropped  one. 
To  Fidette,  however,  on  the  earliest  opportunity,  I  made 
a  free  and  frank  confession.  I  told  her  that  to  drop  one 
of  those  detonating  shells  meant  instant  death  to  every 
one  within  a  radius  of  twenty-five  feet.  She  appeared 
to  attach  no  importance  to  my  caution,  but  my  words 
found  an  indelible  place  in  her  bright  memory. 

It  was  an  episode  that  only  a  woman's  genius  could 
turn  to  future  account. 

They  were  to  become  "blood  oranges." 

The  history  of  this  revolt  against  the  Kantoon  of  the 
Happy  Shark,  is  exceedingly  curious. 

Ostensibly,  the  rebellion  was  for  the  purpose  of 
avenging  the  death  of  the  young  Portuguese  lover  of 
Fidette.  But  it  was  led  by  a  young  man  who  had  not 
personally  known  the  Portuguese,  and  whose  real  mo 
tive  I  shall  now  explain. 

I  have  already  told  what  a  sturdy  race  of  men  the 
Sargassons  were.  This  was  due  to  the  cruel,  but  in 
variable,  rule  of  destroying  all  weak  children  and  of  put 
ting  to  death  all  young  men  who,  having  attained  their 
growth,  did  not  reach  the  height  of  six  feet  or  more. 
When  a  young  man  attained  the  age  of  21  he  was  sum 
moned  before  the  Kantoons  of  twenty-one  ships,  who 
assembled  on  an  island  of  floating  sod,  and  he  was  then 
carefully  measured  as  to  his  height.  The  only  question 
ever  raised  was  whether  the  candidate  so  examined  had 
attained  his  full  growth.  Instances  had  happened  in 
which  the  young  man  had  been  kept  under  observation 
for  several  years,  and  then  finally  condemned.  The  pen 
alty  was  death. 

There  were  no  jails  in  Sargasso  where  people  who 
broke  the  laws  could  be  locked  up.  You  will  remember 


MISSIhG. 

that  I  suffered  a  few  days'  confinement  in  a  temporary 
cage  on  the  main  deck  of  the  Happy  Shark.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  such  a  cell  existed  on  all  the  ships.  Bvut 
the  difficulty  of  caring  for  prisoners  and  the  impossibility 
of  banishment  made  it  necessary  to  inflict  the  death  pen 
alty  for  nearly  all  infractions  of  the  Sargasson  social  cus 
toms. 

One  of  the  most  popular  men  in  all  the  Seaweed  Sea 
was  the  son  of  a  distinguished  Kantoon,  whose  barnacle- 
covered  ship  was  not  far  distant  from  the  Happy  Shark. 
He  had  just  attained  his  majority,  and  at  a  council  of 
Kantoons,  at  which  he  had  presented  himself,  it  had  been 
decided  that  he  was  a  full  half  inch  under  size.  However 
much  he  stretched  his  neck  in  the  effort  to  elongate  his 
frame  to  the  required  six  feet,  the  decision  was  against 
him.  Most  decided  in  his  opinion  was  the  Kantoon  of 
my  ship.  He  scouted  the  idea  that  the  young  man  had 
not  attained  his  full  stature.  He  ridiculed  the  assertion 
of  the  candidate  that  he  still  suffered  from  growing  pains, 
and  finally  turned  the  tide  against  a  popular  movement 
on  the  part  of  several  other  members  of  the  council  to 
give  the  candidate  another  year's  grace. 

It  is  doubtful  if  this  extension  of  time  would  have 
proved  of  real  benefit  to  the  candidate,  because  he  had 
already  done  everything  in  his  power  to  lengthen  himself, 
having  hung  by  his  arms  for  half  a  day  at  a  time  in  order 
te  expand  the  knee  and  hip  joints.  The  Kantoon  of  the 
Happy  Shark  pronounced  the  final  decree  that  the  young 
man  must  die. 

Entirely  contrary  to  custom,  the  condemned  pro 
tested. 

His  firmness  in  the  matter,  his  disinclination  to  ac 
cept  death  when  it  was  decreed  him,  excited  wonderment. 
As  usual  in  such  cases,  he  had  a  week  in  which  to  take 
leave  of  his  friends,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  ex 
pected  to  present  himself  for  execution. 

During  that  interval  he  fomented  the  rebellion. 


THE  PA  PIER-MA  CHE  ORANGES.  103 

The  women  who  had  visited  Fidette  on  the  Happy 
Shark  had  repeated  and  enlarged  upon  the  cruel  inci 
dent  of  the  Portuguese's  death.  The  young  insurgent 
leader  caught  up  this  act  as  one  of  injustice,  and  gath 
ered  around  him  a  faithful  band  of  fifty  rebellious  spirits 
like  himself.  They  seized  a  derelict  that  was  occupied 
only  by  a  caretaker,  fortified  it  and  scorned  the  mandate 
of  the  Grand  Council. 

Hansko  Yap,  as  he  was  called,  announced  that  the 
purpose  of  himself  and  his  followers  was  to  avenge  the 
death  of  Fernandez.  But  the  real  mocive  was  to  humili 
ate  the  Kantoon  of  my  ship  for  the  manner  in  which 
he  had  persisted  in  bringing  about  the  sentence  of  death. 
Spurred  on  by  the  courage  of  despair,  the  young  leader 
developed  into  a  veritable  Commander  Cashing. 

With  utter  fearlessness  he  prepared  the  most  deadly 
engine  that  could  be  sent  against  his  adversaries.  This 
consisted  of  a  large  spar — the  foremast  of  his  own  ship — 
which  was  neatly  tapered  to  a  point,  and  this  capped 
with  iron.  The  spar  was  eighty  feet  long,  and  as  straight 
as  an  arrow. 

The  method  of  attack  was  to  use  this  spar  as  a  bat 
tering  ram  to  break  holes  through  the  assailed  ships. 
With  entire  indifference  to  the  presence  of  sharks,  forty 
of  the  young  men  who  had  joined  in  the  rebellion  would 
spring  into  the  water,  clasp  the  spar  tightly  under  one 
arm,  and  with  the  disengaged  hand  propel  the  floating 
mast  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  Starting  back  a  thousand 
feet  or  more  from  the  derelict  they  intended  to  assail,  they 
would  bring  their  engine  of  destruction  forward  with  a 
rapid  and  regular  stroke  of  great  power  until  within  five 
feet  of  the  vessel,  when,  at  a  signal  from  their  leader,  all 
would  dive.  The  crash  was  so  great  that  the  hull  'of  a 
wooden  vessel  was  always  broken  in. 

With  iron  steamers  the  damage  was  less  serious,  but 
it  was  only  a  question  of  time  and  repetition  when  a  seam 
would  open  and  the  plates  start  apart.  Being  without 


104  MISSING. 

any  means  of  stopping1  the  inflow  of  water,  the  Sargassons 
of  the  doomed  ship  methodically  prepared  themselves 
for  death,  and  stood  upon  the  deck  chanting  their  weird, 
funereal  song  until  the  ship  gradually  settled  and  took 
its  final  plunge. 

Such  had  been  the  experience  in  the  attacks  upon 
all  vessels  prior  to  the  assault  on  the  Happy  Shark. 

Already  this  bold  opponent  of  public  order  had  sunk 
a  dozen  ships,  and  had  caused  it  to  be  made  known 
among  the  entire  community  that  our  craft  must  accept 
the  same  fate. 

As  the  defense  had  been  placed  completely  in  my 
hands,  I  took  the  precaution  of  having  twenty  boats  in 
the  water  ready  to  be  manned  and  sent  out  at  a  moment's 
notice.  In  similar  cases  the  oarsman  took  his  place  in 
the  stern  of  the  boat,  while  in  the  bow  was  a  saljr 
armed  with  a  very  sharp  knife.  The  defense,  therefore, 
was  likely  to  be  very  stubborn,  because  a  score  of  semi- 
savages,  armed  with  huge  swords,  would  be  able  to  make 
a  very  serious  attack  upon  twice  as  many  men  swimming 
in  water.  Excepting  a  few  men  who  were  already  in  the 
boats,  keeping  them  in  order  so  that  they  could  be 
promptly  manned,  the  rest  of  the  crew  lay  asleep  upon 
the  deck,  all  armed  with  spears  or  cutlasses,  awaiting  the 
boarding  party, 


THE  SPAR  FIGHT.  105 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  SPAR  FIGHT. 

I  had  the  morning  watch,  usually  uneventful.  I 
was  standing  on  the  quarter-deck  and  scanning  the  Grand 
Canal  with  the  utmost  care.  We  had  been  told  the  mode 
of  attack  employed  by  the  revolutionists — not  that  they 
had  always  used  the  spar,  for  on  one  occasion  the  fi.'ty 
insurgents  had  swam  to  the  side  of  a  vessel,  swarmed 
upon  its  deck  like  rats,  massacred  the  officers  and  crew, 
scuttled  the  hulk  and  departed.  We  were  alert. 

Suddenly  I  descried  a  ripple  on  the  surface  of  the 
Grand  Canal.  It  might  have  been  caused  by  a  sea  mon 
ster,  and  I  confess  that  at  first  I  did  not  attach  much  im 
portance  to  the  moving  object. 

At  the  end  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  however,  it  had 
approached  so  closely  that  I  could  detect  the  almost  sub 
merged  heads  of  the  swimmers  ranged  along  both  sides 
of  the  floating  spar. 

I  hurried  to  the  main  deck,  where  the  crew  lay  asleep, 
and  awaking  each  man  assigned  him  to  his  post. 

Only  the  bravest  were  given  positions  in  the  small 
boats,  because,  unequal  as  appeared  the  struggle  be 
tween  the  men  in  the  water,  armed  only  with  short  dag 
gers,  and  the  members  of  our  crew,  wielding  heavy  cut 
lasses  in  the  bows  of  the  small  boats,  there  was  a  terrible 
feature  about  the  fight  to  which  I'  have  not  referred. 

The  Sargassons  were  born  swimmers,    They  never 


106  MISSING. 

Went  into  th6  water  without  a  weapon  of  some  kind  to 
defend  themselves  against  sharks,  and  the  Sargasson 
youth,  with  his  double-edged  knife,  was  more  than  able 
to  cope  with  any  one  shark  that  might  attack  him.  This 
savage  monster  of  the  sea,  as  is  well  known,  turns  belly 
upward  before  it  seizes  upon  its  prey.  The  mouth  is 
located  under  the  bottom  of  the  jaw,  and  it  cannot  seize 
an  object  on  the  surface  of  the  water  without  turning 
over.  Taking  advantage  of  this  fact,  the  Sargasson 
swimmer  waits  until  he  sees  the  white  belly  of  the  shark 
in  the  water,  when  he  dives  resolutely  and  plunges  the  ter 
rible  knife  into  the  vitals  of  his  enemy.  Of  course,  it  oc 
casionally  happens  that  he  miscalculates  his  distance,  or 
the  refraction  of  the  water  deceives  him  as  to  the  exact 
location  of  the  fish.  In  that  case  he  pays  the  penalty  of 
his  miscalculation  with  his  life.  But  the  value  of  such  ex 
perience  with  sharks  makes  the  Sargasson  a  terrible 
enemy  in  the  water. 

By  the  time  that  the  attacking  party  had  arrived  \vi.h- 
in  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  our  vessel  the  Kan- 
toon  had  been  awakened  and  relieved  me  of  the  com 
mand. 

The  boats  were  equipped,  the  paddles  were  in  place, 
and  the  sailors  with  their  cutlasses,  crouching  low  in  the 
narrow  bows,  were  ready  to  do'  and  die. 

At  the  word  of  command  our  flotilla  of  sea-root 
canoes  emerged  in  two  divisions  from  behind  the  stern 
and  bow  of  the  Happy  Shark.  At  a  rapid  rate  our  boa's 
advanced  toward  the  moving  spar,  which  had  now  turned 
and  was  headed  directly  for  our  ship.  The  voice  of 
the  commander  of  the  attacking  party  could  be  distinctly 
heard  as  he  gave  orders  to  his  men. 

The  spar  was  brought  to  a  halt,  the  insurgent  chief 
evidently  deciding  to  accept  battle  in  the  open  water.  The 
mysterious  feature  to  me  was  the  remarkable  faculty  that 
the  men  in  the  water  had  of  keeping  their  bodies  almost 
completely  submerged.  When  at  rest  they  all  turned  upon 


THE  SPAR  FIGHT.  107 

their  backs,  merely  exposing  their  nostrils,  and  one  of 
their  ears  in  order  to  hear  the  commands  when  given. 

The  bravery  of  our  sailors  could  not  be  questioned. 
Under  perfect  discipline,  the  two  divisions  moved  for 
ward  and  simultaneously  attacked  the  two  lines  of  men  on 
the  sides  of  the  spar.  It  seemed  a  matter  of  only  a  few 
seconds  when  each  swimmer  would  be  cut  down  and  the 
contest  ended.  In  fact,  the  fight  seemed  such  an  unequal 
one  that  I  felt,  though  I  dared  not  express,  considerable 
sympathy  for  the  misguided  assailants. 

My  feelings  were  not  shared  by  the  Kantoon,  who, 
the  very  moment  that  he  saw  the  insurgents  had  decided 
to  meet  their  adversaries  in  the  middle  of  the  Granl  Cr-na1, 
rather  than  at  the  vessel's  side,  bestirred  himself  about 
the  ship,  distributing  arms  to  those  of  us  remaining  on 
board. 

He  handed  me  a  long  and  very  sharp  sword  with  the 
injunction  that  he  hoped  I  would  know  how  to  use  it,  for 
the  occasion  would  probably  arise  at  once. 

I  was  completely  mystified,  but  did  not  ask  an  ex 
planation.  Nothing  could  have  seemed  more  improbable 
than  that  any  of  the  swimmers  would  survive  the  assault 
of  our  boats. 

This  only  emphasizes  my  ignorance  of  the  methods 
of  Sargasson  warfare. 

Ten  of  the  boats  could  now  be  seen  rapidly  approach 
ing  each  side  of  the  floating  spar  as  it  lay  motionless  in 
the  dark  water.  The  head  of  only  one  swimmer,  prob 
ably  the  commander,  was  visible;  but  I  knew  that  there 
were  forty  strong,  athletic  bodies  ranged  along  the  sides 
of  that  one  piece  of  timber.  The  director  of  our  attack 
had  formed  the  boats  in  two  lines,  and  the  order  WTS 
given  for  a  simultaneous  attack  from  both  sides  of  the 
floating  mast. 

Had  it  not  been  that  the  field  of  my  glass  was  suf 
ficiently  large  to  take  in  the  entire  scene,!  probablv  wmiM 
have  failed  to  detect  a  sudden  commotion  in  the  water 


106  MISSING. 

surrounding  the  floating  spar.  The  forty  heads  of  the 
swimmers  rose  above  the  surface  for  a  moment  and  then 
disappeared  underneath  the  water. 

This  fact  had  a  perceptible  moral  effect  upon  the  men 
in  the  boats.  They  appeared  to  be  seized  with  consterna 
tion.  Several  of  the  oarsmen  ceased  to  paddle,  and,  with 
out  exception,  the  men  with  cutlasses  rose  up  and  craned 
their  necks  over  the  bows,  apparently  seeking  some  object 
in  the  dark  water. 

Our  flotilla  was  in  a  state  of  utter  confusion  and  ds- 
moralization.  And  well  might  its  members  be  alarmed. 
The  enemy  was  about  to  attack  from  under  the  water! 

In  another  instant  many  of  the  canoes  had  been  cap 
sized  and  were  filled  with  water.  In  less  than  a  minute 
only  two  of  our  twenty  boats  were  still  afloat,  and  their 
occupants  were  paddling  for  life  down  the  centre  of 
the  Grand  Canal,  in  a  direction  apart  from  the  ship. 

In  the  water,  a  deadly  hand-to-hand  contest  was  in 
progress.  A  few  of  our  men  had  effected  lodgment  on  the 
floating  spar,  after  the  soft  and  tender  bottoms  of  the'r 
boats  had  been  ripped  open  by  the  diving  Sargassons. 
But  their  respite  from  death  was  very  short.  They  were 
set  upon  by  the  insurgents  and  slaughtered  to  a  man. 

The  only  members  of  our  party  left  at  the  end  of  five 
minutes  were  the  four  men  who  had  escaped  in  the  two 
uninjured  boats! 

All  the  others  had  died,  gallantly., 

Through  my  glass  I  could  see  one  poor  fellow  still 
clutching  the  spar  in  the  agonies  of  death.  He  was  ruth 
lessly  stabbed,  but  it  required  the  combined  strength  of 
two  men  of  the  enemy  to  disengage  his  arms  from  the 
spar. 

Before  we  on  board  had  recovered  from  the  horror 
of  this  spectacle,  the  terrible  steel-capped  spar  was  under 
way,  headed  directly  toward  us. 

Our  defense  had  utterly  failed! 

Something  must  be  done  at  once.      It  was  impossible 


THE  SPAR  FIGHT.  109 

to  move  the  vessel.  I  recollected,  during  my  imprison 
ment,  to  have  slept  upon  a  large  rope  fender.  I  sprang 
down  the  companionway,  seized  this  in  my  arms,  attached 
a  cord  to  it  and  swung  it  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  about 
the  point  I  expected  the  spar  to  strike. 

Watching  narrowly  its  approach,  I  shifted  it  so  that 
the  terrible  blow  of  the  spar  was  received  directly  in  the 
centre  of  the  coil  of  rope.  Though  the  shock  made  the 
old  ship  quiver,  no  damage  was  done.  The  insurgent 
chief  was  very  much  nonplussed  at  the  failure  of  the  bat 
tering  ram,  and  slowly  withdrew  the  spar  for  a  second  at 
tempt.  The  probability  is  that,  had  his  full  equipment 
of  forty  swimmers  been  behind  that  engine  of  assault,  the 
fender  would  not  have  sufficed.  But  in  the  battle  Hans- 
ko  Yap  had  lost  eleven  men,  for  I  was  only  able  to  count 
twenty-nine  heads  in  the  water. 

Onward,  again,  came  the  plucky  and  determined 
enemy.  They  swam  with  greater  force,  and  the  blow  pro 
duced  far  more  of  a  shock  than  the  previous  one;  but  I 
was  able  to  interpose  the  fender  again,  and  this  destroyed 
its  damaging  effects. 

Quicker  than  I  can  recount  it,  however,  members  of 
the  attacking  pjirty  began  to  swarm  on  board  the  Happy 
Shark,  over  the  bows  and  through  the  stern  windows, 
fighting  desperately,  hand  to  hand.  They  appeared  to 
have  only  one  object  of  attack,  and  that  was  the  Kantoon. 
By  a  preconcerted  arrangement  they  formed  in  a  hollow 
square  in  the  middle  of  the  deck,  thus  separating  our  sail 
ors  who  were  forward  from  those  aft,  and  moved  rapidly 
toward  Fidette's  cabin. 

At  this  moment  the  old  Kantoon  showed  the  stuff 
of  which  he  was  made.  He  sprang  down  from  the 
quarterdeck,  cutlass  in  hand,  and1  slashed  about  him  in  a 
way  that  wculd  have  pleased  the  Three  Musketeers.  He 
cut  down  two  men  with  his  own  hand  before  my  eyes. 
One  of  these  fellows,  however,  was  not  killed,  and 
crawled  along  the  deck  until1  he  reached  a  point  where 


110  MISSING. 

he  could  strike.  He  then  literally  hobbled  the  Kamoon 
by  slashing  him  across  the  calves  of  his  legs,  and  the 
brave  old  man,  falling  to  the  deck  in  a  heap,  was  done 
to  death  in  an  instant. 

The  command  of  the  ship  then  devolved  upon  me, 
but  before  I  could  have  rallied  the  men  we  would  have 
been  defeated  had  not  Fidette  performed  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  acts  of  heroism  imaginable, 


FR  UIT  FOR  DEAD  MEN.  Ill 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FRUIT  FOR  DEAD  MEN. 

Among  the  Sargassons  quarter  is  never  asked  or 
given. 

The  enemy  were  in  possession  of  our  upper  deck, 
and  had  formed  in  a  hollow  square  around  the  main 
hatchway,  leading  below.  Prior  to  the  engagement,  a 
cover  had  been  placed  upon  this  hatch  and  securely 
fastened.  Otherwise,  some  of  the  enemy  would  have 
been  sent  below  to  cut  the  throats  of  our  wounded  as 
they  lay  in  the  sick  bay.  »J 

I  was  on  the  quarter  deck,  and  recognized  the  ex 
treme  gravity  of  the  situation. 

Although  I  had  passed  through  many  critical  mo 
ments  during  my  long  and  active  career  as  a  sailor  and 
commander,  I  never  felt  the  absolute  imminence  of  death 
so  keenly.  I  realized  that  I  must  meet  my  end  bravely, 
but  I  confess  that  the  thought  that  I  must  virtually  com 
pel  one  of  these  savage  brutes  to  carve  me  to  pieces,  still 
alive,  with  the  terrible  double-edged  knife  that  he  carried 
in  his  hands,  was  not  pleasing. 

Every  man  on  board  knew  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  saving  his  life  by  surrender. 

Earlier  in  the  fight,  Fidette  had  rushed  to  my  side, 
and  declared  that  if  I  thoueht  the  ship  could  be  saved  by 
her  surrender,  she  would  willingly  give  herself  up.  Natu 
rally,  such  a  suggestion  was  utterly  repugnant  to  me,  and 
I  had  rejected  it. 


112  MJSSINO. 

The  few  brave  fellows  around  me  regarded  the  situa 
tion  far  more  complacently  than  did  I.  Their  breas's 
did  not  seem  to  be  torn  with  the  agony  that  lacerated 
mine.  They  viewed  the  approaching1  extinction  as  a 
mere  incident,  while  to  me  it  appeared  the  horrible  crisis 
that  it  is  to  most  men  of  our  race.  Besides,  I  had  ac 
cepted  the  care  of  Fidette's  life,  and  was  burdened  with 
a  responsibility  that  none  of  my  companions  shared. 

As  we  stood  there,  prepared  for  a  final  and  hopeless 
defense,  we  felt  that  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  those  of 
us  who  escaped  the  horrible  knives  of  our  assailants 
would  be  lashed  to  some  part  of  the  rigging  and  sent  to 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  with  our  scuttled  ship. 

I  had  sent  Fidette  to  her  cabin  with  the  solemn  in 
junction  that  she  must  be  prepared  for  death.  She 
proved  to  be  a  very  brave  and  heroic  little  woman.  She 
bade  me  farewell  in  a  tender  and  affectionate  manner, 
wholly  different  from  the  well-remembered  parting  with 
the  trombone  player,  as  he  went  over  the  side  of  the  ship 
to  a  death  that  she  knew^as  prepared  for  him.  I  felt 
that  I  detected  real  affection  in  the  playful  twist  she  gave 
to  a  lock  of  my  hair  that  hung  down  over  my  forehead. 

Every  man's  experience  fits  his  own  vanity! 

I  had  not  forgotten  the  dear  girl,  however,  and, 
racked  as  was  my  heart  with  conflicting  emotions,  I  saw 
her,  in  my  fancy,  seated  in  her  cabin,  awaiting  her  doom. 

There  was  only  six  of  us  on  the  quarter  deck,  but  we 
were  determined  to  sell  our  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 
The  rest  of  the  ship's  company,  many  of  them  being  un 
armed,  were  huddled  together  at  the  bow  of  the  vessel. 
We  all  carried  heavy  cutlasses,  and  had  some  sort  of  a 
chance  for  defense,  while  the  poor  fellows  forward  meekly 
awaited  death,  without  hope  of  resistance. 

We  could  see  that  the  leader  of  the  enemy  was  in 
structing  his  men.  He  pointed  to  us  in  turn,  evidently 
assigning  two  of  his  assassins  to  each  man.  We  were 
awaiting  the  onslaught  with  nerves  at  the  highest  tension, 


FR  UT  FOR  DEAD  MEN.  113 

when  suddenly  I  observed  the  eyes  of  our  enemies  mov 
ing  in  the  direction  of  the  starboard  quarter.  Something 
had  diverted  their  attention  from  the  vital  instructions 
of  their  commander. 

Turning  my  head,  I  saw  my  pretty  Fidette,  arrayed 
in  her  newest  and  brightest  sea-grass,  shell-bespangled 
dress,  creeping  above  the  gunwale  of  the  ship,  evidently 
from  the  window  of  her  cabin.  There  was  a  sweet  and 
gentle  smile  upon  her  face.  Her  long  tresses,  carefully 
combed  out,  streamed  in  the  air.  With  all  the  agility  of 
a  cat,  she  sprang  to  the  top  of  the  rail  and  hurried  for 
ward  to  the  standing  rigging. 

I  saw  that  she  carried  on  the  side  away  from  the 
enemy's  view,  the  little  wicker  basket  filled  with  the  pretty 
orange-hued  bombs! 

Was  she  determined  upon  self-destruction? 

I  sprang  forward  in  the  hope  of  stopping  her,  as  I 
expected  to  see  her  blown  to  atoms.  Without  looking  in 
my  direction,  however,  she  bounded  toward  the  ladder, 
and  quicker  than  I  can  say  it  her  little  bare  feet  were 
climbing  the  worn  and  broken  rattlings. 

Then  I  understood  the  meaning  of  her  actions !  She 
was  about  to  ascend  to  the  masthead,  whence  she  evident 
ly  intended  to  hurl  the  bombs  upon  the  enemy  below. 

I  watched  her  with  bated  breath,  fearing  that  she 
might  fall  to  the  deck.  I  knew  how  rotten  and  treacher- 
cus  was  the  disused  rigging.  Clearly,  nobody  besides  my 
self  comprehended  her  purpose.  Twice  she  nearly  fell. 
Again  and  again  the  tarred  ropes  broke  beneath  her  feet. 
But  she  was  firm  of  purpose  and  rapidly  neared  the  top. 

How  can  I  pay  tribute  to  her  conduct?  How  can  I 
cause  the  reader  to  feel  the  boundless  emotions  of  pride 
that  stirred  my  bosom  at  such  a  moment? 

I  forgave  her  everything — even  the  trombone  man, 
even  her  lack  of  sympathy  and  the  frivolity  of  her  char 
acter. 

A  moment!    New  she  was  at  the  masthead!      Thg 


11*  MISSING. 

cnsJs  was  at  hand!  The  men  who  formed  the  hollow 
square  on  the  deck  below  had  not  taken  their  eyes  from 
the  climbing  figure.  It  is  doubtful  if  they  had  not  mis 
taken  the  little  wicker  basket  on  her  arm  for  a  hat. 

I  enjoyed  her  triu'mph.  I  knew  she  was  mistress  of 
the  situation.  She  held  the  power  of  life  and  death  over 
all  of  us. 

She  waved  her  hand  to  the  men  about  to  die.  She 
gave  a  jaunty  toss  of  her  head  in  my  direction. 

Our  enemies  were  charmed  as  by  a  magic  spell.  Fi- 
dette  softened  their  hearts — hearts  steeled  against  all  hu 
man  emotions. 

She  appealed  to  another  and  very  different  passion 
than  the  desire  for  blood. 

She  stole  murder  from  their  hearts,  and  planted  love 
there  instead.  Her  charms  seduced  them,  even  as  her 
beautiful  hand  was  about  to  slay  them. 

It  was  well  that  it  was  so ;  for  'tis  better  that  men  die 
with  forgiveness  in  their  hearts. 

Only  for  a  moment  did  Fidette  stand  gaeing  down 
into  the  upturned  faces  of  these  pitiless  assassins.  I 
feared  that  her  courage  had  failed  her;  but  I  was  mis 
taken. 

Still  clinging  to  the  standing  rigging  with  her  left 
hand,  she  took  with  her  right  hand  from  the  little  wicker 
basket  four  of  the  pretty  yellow  bombs,  and,  true  to  the 
mark,  sent  them  hurtling  toward  the  deck. 

They  landed  simultaneously  and  quite  near  together 
in  the  centre  of  the  human  square. 

The  concussion  that  instantly  followed  shook  every 
timber  of  the  ship.  It  could  not  be  described  as  an  explo 
sion,  but  as  a  white  flash.  Very  little  flame  was  seen,  but 
the  deck  was  cleared  as  if  by  magic.  Pieces  of  wood  and 
parts  of  human  bodies  were  sent  screaming  through  the 
air.  The  very  oakum  between  the  deck  planks  was  con 
verted  into  impalpable  dust.  The  bulwarks  were  torn 
away  on  the  starboard  side,  and  all  the  invaders  who 


FR  UIT  FOR  DEAD  MEN.  115 

stood  there  were  brushed  into  the  sea  as  with  a  broom. 

On  the  port  side,  owing-  to  the  fact  that  the  force  of 
the  explosion  had  been  spent  in  the  opposite  direction,  a 
few  men  escaped.  Many  of  these  were  wounded,  and 
several  were  suffering1  from  shock. 

Fidette  had  recaptured  the  ship! 


116  M1881NQ. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

FIDETTE  BECOMES  MINE. 

Exactly  six  of  the  boarding  party  escaped.  Trem 
bling  with  fear  inspired  by  the  sudden  and  terrible  death 
that  had  overtaken  their  companions  on  the  deck  of  the 
Happy  Shark,  they  sprang  into  the  water  and  hid  them 
selves  under  their  floating  spar. 

"Out  with  the  boats  and  follow  them!"  cried  Fidette, 
her  voice  no  longer  gentle  and  sweet 

Unfortunately,  all  our  boats  had  been  destroyed,  and 
no  posible  means  of  pursuit  remained.  I  was  just  as  glad, 
because  our  experience  in  the  boats  earlier  in  the  day  had 
not  been  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  in  such  an  at 
tack.  What  was  left  of  the  attacking  party  was  sure  to 
escape.  In  numbers  they  were  few,  but  in  resources  and 
artifices  they  were  strong.  They  deserved  no  mercy. 
They  had  made  a  wanton  and  heartless  attack  upon  us, 
and  had  robbed  us  of  our  good  commander.  They  had 
made  Fidette  an  orphan. 

When  pursuit  was  seen  to  be  impossible,  I  watched 
the  infernal  spar  slowly  moving  out  into  the  centre  of  the 
Grand  Canal.  Then  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  dead 
and  dying  that  strewed  our  decks.  Many  of  the  killed 
were  frightfully  mangled.  The  explosion  of  the  shell  hav 
ing  torn  up  the  deck,  the  flying  splinters  killed  as  many 
men  as  did  the  concussion. 

I  gave  immediate  orders  to  have  all  the  bodies  of  the 
invaders  thrown  over  the  side  of  the  ship.  This  was  done 
without  any  feeling  of  remorse. 


F1DETTE  BECOMES  MINE.  117 

We  gathered  our  own  dead,  and  I  gave  orders  to 
have  them  prepared  for  burial. 

Poor  Fidette  was  inconsolable.  I  found  her  bend 
ing  over  the  body  of  her  father,  wailing  piteously! 

Examining  the  old  man's  body,  I  found  that  he  had 
died  from  a  knife  thrust  in  the  heart.  The  scoundrel  who 
had  dealt  the  blow  was  a  swarthy  Lascar,  and  he  had, 
fortunately  for  himself,  died  from  the  wound  inflicted  by 
the  Kantoon.  Had  he  still  been  alive,  I  am  sure  I  could 
not  have  restrained  our  men  from  inflicting  upon  him  the 
most  horrible  tortures.  Remember,  they  would  have  felt 
little  resentment  toward  him  for  the  murder  of  the  good 
Kantoon ;  what  incensed  them  specially  was  the  mutilation 
prior  to  the  final  extinction  of  the  old  man's  life. 

Reverently  lifting  the  Kantoon's  body  in  my  arms,  I 
carried  it  to  his  cabin  and  placed  it  in  his  bunk;  then, 
with  a  deep  feeling  of  sorrow  in  my  heart,  I  withdrew, 
leaving  poor  Fidette  alone  with  her<  dead  father. 

Obviously,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  call  a 
meeting  of  the  entire  ship's  company. 

This  I  did  at  once,  and  the  men  soon  assembled  in 
front  of  the  mainmast.  Speaking  in  the  same  polyglottic 
tongue  that  the  good  Kantoon  had  employed,  I  addressed 
the  men  in  as  pathetic  a  manner  as  I  could,  calling  atten 
tion  to  the  bravery  of  our  dead  commander,  and  then 
commending  by  name  all  the  valorous  sailors  who  lay 
dead. 

I  then  approached  the  important  subject  of  the  suc 
cession  to  the  Kantoonship.  I  desired  to  be  the  master 
of  the  Happy  Shark,  but  I  was  well  aware  that  the  first 
and  second  mates  had  prior  claims,  and  would  not  quietly 
relinquish  them. 

Under  the  Sargasson  code,  each  Community  is  a  law 
unto  itself.  If  the  crew  wished  to  have  me  rule  over 
them  no  influence  could  prevent  me  from  attaining  that 
dignity.  Had  I  already  been  Fidette's  husband,  of  course 
I  would  have  become  the  commander  without  question. 


113  MISSING. 

Rebellion  was  rampant  throughout  the  Sargasso  Sea, 
and  although  there  had  not  been  any  signs  of  mutiny 
aboard  my  own  vessel,  I  felt  that  if  I  insisted  upon  be 
coming  captain  of  the  ship  it  would  be  fomented.  I 
decided  to  temporize  for  a  few  days,  until  I  could  be  mar 
ried  to  Fidette  under  the  civil  form,  after  which  my 
claim  would  be  well  nigh  unimpeachable. 

I  therefore  concluded  my  address  to  the  men  by  say 
ing  that  pending  any  final  decision  regarding  the  Kan- 
toonship,  we  would  unite  in  a  common  sorrow,  and  attend 
the  burial  of  our  late  commander. 

The  rebellious  condition  of  the  Sargassons  made  it 
dangerous  for  Fidette  and  me  to  undertake  a  journey  to 
the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire.  We  might  not  have  been 
molested,  but  the  chances  were  that  a  marauding  party 
or  some  friends  of  the  men  defeated  upon  our  decks 
would  give  chase  and  destroy  us.  Besides,  the  code  of 
this  people  provided  for  civil  marriages  in  the  presence  of 
witnesses  during  stress  of  heavy  weather — not  that  the 
waves  ever  ran  very  high  on  the  large  canals  of  Sargasso, 
because  the  sea  was  held  in  bondage  by  the  thick  green 
blanket  of  weeds  and  orchids  that  thrived  luxuriously 
upon  its  heaving  surface. 

A  superstitious  people,  the  Sargassons  feared  in 
tensely  the  electric  storms  that  broke  over  them.  Like 
the  sailors  of  Columbus,  they  had  a  dread  of  falling  stars. 
A  yellow  condition  of  the  atmosphere  completely  pros 
trated  them.  Mere  rainstorms  were  to  them  a  delight. 
It  was  the  commonest  incident  to  see  the  entire  ship's 
company  mustered  to  enjoy  a  heavy  rain!  I  had  seen 
the  Kantoon  awaken  his  sturdiest  men  out  of  their  first 
sleep  at  the  end  of  a  watch,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
brought  on  deck  again  and  stand  in  a  shower. 

Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost  if  I  were  to  retain 
command  of  the  ship. 

At  the  side  of  the  body  of  her  dead  father,  Fidette 
and  I  calmly  and  solemnly  discussed  the  situation.  She 


F1DETTE  BFCOMES  MINE.  119 

agreed  with  me  entirely  that  our  marriage  must  occur 
at  once.  In  a  girlish  way,  she  exacted  of  me  only  one 
promise,  and  that  was  that  I  would  never  refer  to  the 
trombone  man  after  our  marriage.  As  her  poor  dead 
father  had  "arranged"  the  Portuguese's  taking  off,  I  saw 
no  reason  why  I  should  ever  dwell  upon  the  man's  exist 
ence.  I  promised. 

We  agreed,  though  not  without  serious*  controversy, 
that  it  was  wisest  to  have  the  ceremony  take  place  while 
her  father's  body  still  remained  on  the  ship.  It  was  to 
us  a  palladium  of  safety,  for  in  its  visible  presence  no 
vandal  hand  would  dare  to  intrude  and  take  possession 
of  the  Kantoon's  cabin. 

The  civil  ceremony  of  marriage  among  the  Sargas- 
sons  is  simplicity  itself.  The  bride  and  the  groom  ap 
proach  the  mainmast  from  opposite  ends  of  the  vessel, 
she  always  leaving  her  cabin  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and 
he  going  forward,  in  order  that,  returning,  he  may  ap 
proach  from  the  bow.  In  the  presence  of  the  entire 
ship's  company  drawn  up  along  the  bulwarks,  the  con 
tracting  parties  join  both  hands  around  the  mainmast. 
They  then  move  three  times  completely  around  the  mast 
in  order  that  every  member  of  the  ship's  company  shall 
witness  the  fact  that  they  have  voluntarily  taken  each 
other  as  husband  and  wife.  They  then  unclasp  their 
hands  and  standing  facing  each  other  aft  the  mast.  After 
that,  one  of  the  crew,  generally  the  oldest  man,  no  mat 
ter  what  his  station,  presents  the  bride  with  a  sprig  of 
bay  or  other  green  bough.  The  groom  then  makes  his 
bride  a  present  of  a  necklace  of  shark's  teeth  and  a  few 
pink-fish  scales,  with  pretty  sentiments  indelibly  scratched 
upon  them. 

If  the  groom  have  the  promise  of  the  succession  to 
the  command  of  a  vessel  in  Sargasso,  it  is  usually  /good 
form  to  announce  it  on  such  an  occasion.  I  had  no  such 
promise  in  writing,  nor  had  Fidette,  the  fact  being  that 
I  had  hoped  to  be  transferred  to  my  old  ship  and  resume 
Command  of  her. 


120  MISSING. 

In  the  absence  of  the  officiating  Kantoon,  it  is  the 
custom  for  the  groom  to  ask  the  bride,  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  witnesses,  if  she  willingly  and  freely  accepts 
him  to  be  her  husband,  and  in  the  event  of  a  favorable 
response,  the  bride  then  puts  a  similar  question  to  her 
intended  mate,  which,  if  properly  replied  to,  confirms 
the  union,  and  all  the  sailors  unite  in  a  benediction  in  the 
words : 

"It  is  well;  amen." 

With  much  solemnity  the  best  friend'  of  the  groom 
approaches,  carrying  a  bucket  of  water,  ascends  to  a 
small  platform  that  has  been  put  up  for  the  occasion,  and 
while  the  newly  wedded  pair  bow  their  heads  in  a  respect 
ful  attitude,  they  receive  The  Baptism.  Rain  water  is 
generally  used  upon  occasions  of  this  kind. 

So  we  were  married. 

This  being  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony,  the  bride 
always  kisses  her  husband  first,  and  he,  throwing  him 
self  upon  his  face  upon  the  deck,  returns  the  salute  by 
planting  a  kiss  upon  each  of  her  pretty  pink  feet,  in  token 
of  abject  reverence. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  a  period  of  feasting 
and  dancing  would  have  followed.  But  the  dead  body 
of  the  good  Kantoon  still  lay  unburied. 

The  Sargassons  have  a  very  pretty  theory  about 
death. 

They  believe  that  those  to  whom  the  messenger 
comes  when  the  sun  is  shining  brightly  are  transported 
straight  away  to  the  sweet-water  heaven,  where  they  may 
wade  and  disport  themselves  to  all  eternity.  To  those, 
on  the  other  hand,  who  receive  the  call  of  death  in  the 
hours  of  darkness  or  in  foggy  weather,  there  must  needs 
be  a  preparatory  period  before  they  can  enjoy  the  future 
life.  I  never  met  a  Sargasson  who  was  not  a  believer  in 
fore-ordination.  What  is  to  be  they  believe  will  be. 
While  I  witnessed  many  deathbed  scenes,  I  never  heard  a 
reproach  or  a  regret  uttered  that  the  end  did  not  come 


FIDETTE  BECOMES  MINE.  121 

when  most  desirable.  Those  who  passed  away  in  the 
night  accepted  the  verdict  as  a  punishment  for  some  act, 
known  or  unknown,  committed  by  them  during  their 
lives. 

The  funeral  of  the  Kantoon  took  place  on  the  fol 
lowing  day.  The  dear  old  man  was  sewed  up  in  the 
only  bit  of  tarpaulin  left  on  board,  and,  weighted  with  our 
last  anchor,  was  brought  to  the  gangway.  There  we  all 
took  our  final  leave,  after  the  Sargasson  form,  each  mem 
ber  of  the  ship's  company  approaching  solemnly,  -witb 
bared  head,  and  placing  his  right  hand  over  the  heart 
of  the  dead.  No  sound  of  lamentation  or  grief  was  ex 
pressed  or  permitted,  but  the  body,  resting  on  a  long 
board,  was  gently  pushed,  feet  foremost,  into  the  sea. 

Half  an  hour  later,  while  I  was  busied  with  my 
duties  in  getting  the  ship  in  trim,  little  Fidette  had  taken 
her  place  far  out  on  the  bowsprit,  and  sat  dangling  her 
feet  in  the  water,  nursing  her  prettiest  and  most  petted 
pink  and  green  octopus. 


119  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MAKING   NEW  BOATS. 

Good  fortune  does  not  always  bring-  happiness. 

This  turn  in  my  affairs,  however,  attractive  from  a 
Sargasson  viewpoint,  caused  me  heartache.  The  death  of 
the  good  Kantoon  had  changed  the  whole  current  of 
my  life.  My  marriage  with  Fidette,  that  I  had  counted 
upon  to  seal  the  promise  of  her  father  t®  have  the  com 
mand  «f  my  old  ship  at  her  moorings,  not  far  distant, 
was  the  tie  that  now  bound  me  absolutely  to  the  Happy 
Shark.  Without  the  potent  influence  of  the  dead  com 
mander,  I  could  hardly  hope,  newcomer  as  I  was,  to  be 
selected  for  the  important  trust  I  coveted. 

The  courage  that  I  had  shown  during  the  attack  o£ 
the  boarding  party  had  reconciled  all  the  opposing  fac 
tions  to  my  leadership  and  command.  If,  indeed,  I  had 
lacked  anything  in  spirit  or  ferocity,  Fidette's  unexam 
pled  success  with  the  mock  oranges  confirmed  me  in  my 
position. 

I  would  be  associated  with  the  other  Commanders 
in  the  Seaweed  Sea;  would  assemble  and  kneel  with 
them  around  the  Sacred  Fire  at  the  annual  Guna-Gamus. 

Participation  in  this  solemn  ceremonial  was  proof  oi 
social  recognition  beyond  all  certificates  of  character. 

And  yet,  I  was  not  happy. 

Deep  down  in  my  heart,  I  had  harbored  treachery  to 
the  Sargassons.  One  of  my  constant  dreams  had  been 


MAKING  NEW  BOATS.  123 

to  regain  possession  of  the  Caribas,  that  I  might  repair 
her  machinery,  store  her  with  dried  seaweed  and  other 
drift,  with  which  to  feed  her  boilers  long  enough  to  get 
up  steam  and  reclaim  the  lost  ship  for  her  owners., 

My  own  release  from  the  enforced  detention  did  not 
excite  my  imagination  nearly  so  much  as  the  prospect  of 
returning  to  the  owners  at  Plymouth  the  property  that 
they  had  intrusted  to  my  care. 

Torn  by  conflicting  emotions  of  love  and  duty,  I 
was  the  most  miserable  of  men.  I  could  not  forget 
Fidette.  Equally  hard  was  it  for  me  to  overlook  the 
countless  kind  acts  that  I  had  received  from  the  Sargas- 
son  people.  They  had  robbed  me  of  my  command;  had 
dishonored  me  in  my  own  eyes;  but  theirs  was  a  novel 
piracy,  so  curious  and  interesting  that  I  forgave  the  in 
justice  to  me. 

Besides,  there  was  much  to  be  said  in  behalf  of  the 
Sargassons.  Other  nations,  whose  people  are  far  more 
civilized,  indulge  in  conquests,  make  war  without  due 
provocation,  capture  ships,  burn  towns  and  massacre  inno 
cent  people.  To  the  Sargassons,  a  constant  accession  of 
new  ships  and  new  blood  is  necessary.  They  are  not  a  pro 
lific  people.  From  their  point  of  view,  any  ship  that 
strays  or  adventures  within  the  limits  of  their  domain  is 
lawful  prize.  They  make  war  upon  no  other  part  of  the 
world!  Their  possessions  are  far  out  of  the  ordinary 
path  of  trade,  and  misfortune  and  foolishness  are  the 
only  two  excuses  for  an  invasion  of  Sargasso.  Tt  is  true, 
they  are  merciless  and  cruel.  In  their  battles  they  neither 
give  nor  accept  quarter;  but  such  is  the  Draconian  law 
they  practice  against  each  other. 

It  is  perfectly  natural  that  they  should  discounte 
nance  the  escape  of  any  adventurer  who  may  have  be 
come  possessed  of  the  secret  »f  their  existence. 

Every  ship  in  Sargasso  is  a  treasure  house,  loaded 
with  the  salvage  of  derelicts  from  every  quarter  of  the 
habitable  globe.  No  government  to-day  in  existence, 


124  MISSING. 

recognizes  the  rights  of  the  Sargassons.  The  limits  of 
their  strangely  organized  republic  are  undefined.  Like 
the  Numancians  of  old,  they  perish  by  self-destruction 
rather  than  surrender  to  external  foes.  Sleeping  or  wak 
ing,  each  member  of  a  ship's  company  exists  only  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Kantoon  who  commands  the  craft. 

The  bottom  of  every  ship  is  a  honeycomb  of  holes, 
the  plugs  in  which  can  be  drawn  by  means  of  chains 
leading  to  the  Commander's  cabin. 

Therefore,  I  say,  the  fact  that  I  have  returned  to  my 
native  land  and  am  able  to  recount  my  curious  experi 
ences  is  solely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  mercy  and  kind 
ness  of  the  Sargassons  in  my  case  were  misplaced.  For 
their  own  protection  they  should  have  made  way  with 
me.  The  recent  account  of  the  Bureau  of  Navigation  at 
Washington,  directing  that  several  of  the  smaller  armed 
cruisers  be  sent  to  the  Sargasso  Sea  for  the  purpose  of 
blowing  up  and  sinking  all  the  vessels  found  therein,  is 
the  result  of  an  indiscreet  communication  made  by  me 
shortly  after  my  return  a  few  weeks  ago. 

I  need  not  say  that  this  is  to  me  a  matter  of  sincere 
regret,  that  our  Government,  having  many  humane  acts 
to  its  credit,  should  thus  ruthlessly  intrude  upon  a  people 
that  has  never  personally  harmed  it,  and  wage  a  war  of 
extermination  not  equaled  even  by  the  savage  and  un 
civilized  Sargassons. 

Can  it  be  that  the  United  States  is  about  to  follow 
the  example  of  Japan  at  Port  Arthur! 

In  my  behalf,  it  should  be  remembered  that  I  was 
still  in  the  honeymoon  of  love. 

Life  had  never  seemed  so  precious  to  me;  and  the 
thought  that  the  Happy  Shark  could  not  be  expected  to 
keep  afloat  for  many  years  filled  me  with  mental  agony. 
Here  must  we  stay,  exactly  like  rats  on  a  sinking  ship. 

The  thought  of  death  grew  more  repugnant  to  me 
every  day.  I  didn't  want  to  lose  Fidette. 

The   crew   were    set   to   work  making  new  boats. 


MAKING  NEW  BOATS.  125 

This  was  imperative  for  several  reasons.  First  of  all, 
we  were  very  short  of  food  on  the  Happy  Shark.  The 
sides  of  the  vessel  had  been  scraped!  clean  of  all  barna 
cles — the  small  shellfish  being  very  attractive  to  the  Sar 
gassos  palate. 

The  quaking  sod  for  miles  around  was  covered  with 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  yellow  berries,  delicious  to  the 
taste.  Crayfish  existed  in  great  abundance.  They 
climbed  out  of  the  water  on  the  branches  of  floating 
trees,  and  could  be  gathered  in  large  quantities.  The 
fruit  and  the  crayfish  were  eaten  raw. 

It  was  necessary,  also,  that  we  should  have  new 
boats,  because  the  ceremony  of  the  Guna-Gamus  would 
soon  occur,  and  my  first  appearance  at  that  function  must 
not  be  prevented. 

The  selection  of  the  material  from  which  the  boats 
were  made  was  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  as 
well  as  art. 

From  the  under  surface  of  the  floating  sod  long, 
ropellke  roots  extended  downward  to  great  depths.  These 
roots  were  of  a  brownish  hue  and  varied  in  thickness. 
They  were  very  pliable  while  fresh,  and  were  readily 
worked  up  into  matting. 

There  was  only  one  way  in  which  this  material  couid 
be  procured.  The  thickness  of  the  sod  varied  greatly,  ac 
cording  to  the  period  of  its  formation.  It  was  necessary, 
therefore,  to  find  a  thin  spot  in  the  sod,  through  which 
a  hole  could  be  cut.  Divers,  armed  with  short,  sharp 
knives,  were  sent  down  to  bring  these  long,  ell-like  roots 
to  the  surface.  This  work  was  attended  with  much  dan 
ger,  because  it  not  infrequently  happened  that  the  diver 
became  confused  while  working  under  the  sod,  and,  los 
ing  his  bearings,  groped  his  way  in  a  direction  opposite 
the  watery  shoot  through  which  he  had  descended.  Res 
cue  was  impossible. 

Now  and  then  a  shark  devoured'  a  diver. 

When  enough  of  ttese  roots  had  been  secured  by 


126 

this  hazardous  means,  they  were  lashed  together  and 
kept  in  the  water  until  the  moment  of  their  use. 

A  stout  and  straight  limb  was  cut  from  one  of  the 
floating  trees  for  a  keel.  The  finding  of  this  stick  was 
not  easy. 

I  should  have  mentioned  that  as  soon  as  possible 
after  the  final  defeat  of  the  boarding  party,  who  had  at 
tempted  to  capture  and  assassinate  us,  swimmers  we-e  s  nt 
out,  and  succeeded  in  securing  and  dragging  back  to  ti.e 
ship  several  of  our  destroyed  canoes. 

The  keel,  generally  nine  feet  in  length,  was  placed 
upon  a  row  of  blocks,  several  inches  above  the  deck. 
Five  pieces  of  the  longest  and  toughest  roc's  were  se 
lected  by  the  expert  boatmaker,  and  these  were  placed 
around  and  parallel  to  the  keel  stick.  They  were  then 
carefully  bound  together  by  the  smallest  and  the  tough 
est  withes,  made  of  roots  split  in  half.  This  part  of  the 
work  required  much  skill  and  neatness.  The  excellence 
of  the  completed  boat  depended  upon  the  firmness  with 
which  these  long,  radiating  roots  were  bound  to  the  keel. 

The  long  ends  of  two  of  the  roots  projecting  from 
the  keel  were  brought  together  about  two  feet  above  the 
blocks,  and  there  securely  fastened.  They  were  then 
gently  bent  at  right  angles  and  extended  in  a  curved  line 
from  stem  to  stern,  and  vice  versa.  This  formed  the  gun 
wales  of  the  boat.  The  other  withes  were  then  turned 
backward,  and  attached  at  regular  intervals  to  the  gun 
wale  line.  This  formed  a  rough  network,"  over  which 
the  smaller  roots  were  laced  with  consummate  art,  until 
every  crevice  was  covered. 

Meanwhile,  the  gum  made  from  fish  scales  was  in 
preparation,  and  this  was  carefully  smeared  over  the  en 
tire  network  within  and  without,  rendering  the  boat  abso 
lutely  water  tight.  The  secret  of  the  composition  of  Ihfe 
glue  was  one  of  the  treasured  possessions  of  the  Sar- 
gassons. 

completed,  the  boats  weighed  usually  about 


MAKING  NEW  BOATS.  127 

thirty  pounds.  It  was  necessary  that  they  be  kept  wet 
all  the  time,  however,  as  they  became  worthless  when 
once  thoroughly  dried. 

A  direct  means  existed  for  communicating  with  the 
neighboring  ships.  In  my  excursions*  I;  had  noticed 
bundles!  'of  the  cordlike  roots  radiating  from  various 
ships  across  the  floating  sod — submerged  at  points,  but 
generally  out  of  the  water.  They  were  similar  to  the 
roots  used  by  the  Sargassons  in  the  construction  of  their 
boats.  These  roots  extended  downward  to  great  lengths, 
limited  only  by  their  tensile  strength.  I  have  seen  many 
specimens  one  thousand  feet  long.  They  drew  their  en 
tire  sustenance  from  the  water,  and  a  bit  of  root  thrown 
overboard  would  continue  to  live,  and  finally  attach  itself 
to  the  sod. 

The  Sargassons  formed  long  cables  of  thesfl  roots, 
by  grafting  them  together  at  the  ends  and  covering  the 
splices*  with  fish  scale  gum.  The  wounds  soon  healed 
and  the  junction  became  perfect.  In  this  way  the  Sar 
gassons  pieced  the  roots  together  until  they  were  many 
miles  in  length.  The  cables  thus  formed  were  rarely 
more  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  but  they  possessed  the  re 
markable  property  of  transmitting  sound.  This  system  of 
intercommunication  had  been  introduced  by  a  Ceylonese, 
who,  proud  of  the  traditions  of  his  imperial  island,  had  re 
called  to  mind  the  grapevine  telegraph  that  once  joined 
together  the  entire  coast  of  his  native  land.  Messages 
were  transmitted  by  blows  upon  a  solid  block  of  wood 
attached  to  the  end  of  the  root  cable.  I  never  mastered 
the  code,  but  our  signal  officer,  an  old  Frenchman,  was 
quite  expert. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  of  hi? t  ry  was  the 
attempt  of  the  Dutch  to  take  possession  of  Ceylon.  They  al 
ready  possessed  Java  and  other  islands  of  less  size,  in 
Oceania,  and  in  their  stately  ships  they  made  a  serious 
attempt  to  capture  the  valuable  island  south  of  Hindus 
tan.  But  the  Ceylonese  were  proud  of  their  independ- 


128  MISSING. 

etice.  Religious  fanaticism  also  had  much  to  do  with 
their  sturdy  courage.  Were  they  not  the  custodians  of 
the  sacred  tooth  of  Buddha?  The  Western  infidels,  as 
they  very  naturally  denominated  the  Hollanders,  would 
not  respect  this  trophy.  Therefore,  they  of  Ceylon  must 
answer  for  it  to  Buddha  with  their  lives. 

Again  and  again  the  Dutch  attempted  to  land  troops, 
but  they  were  always  confronted  with  native  soldiery, 
who  beat  them  off,  destroyed  their  boats,  and  massacred 
all  the  officers  and  men  who  escaped  the  savage  surf  that 
beat  upon  the  Ceylon  shores.  In  vain  the  would-be  in 
vaders  resorted  to  artifice.  They  sailed  away  at  night, 
as  if  abandoning  the  attack,  only  to  approach  the  island 
at  another  point,  but  always  to  find  the  courageous  and 
unconquerable  natives  drawn  up  in  martial  array  to  re 
ceive  them.  The  attempt  to  capture  thte  island  'was 
abandoned.  It  was  claimed,  quite  in  the  Eastern  fashion, 
that  intercommunication  was  effected  after  the  manner 
of  the  Theo sophists,  by  the  projection  of  thought,  or  by 
actual  traveling  of  the  astral  body.  This  explanation 
satisfied  the  Hollanders.  Subsequent  exploration,  after 
the  island  became  a  part  of  British  India,  made  it  plain 
that  through  the  tree  tops  of  Ceylon's  trackless  forests 
were  carried  grapvine  cables,  possessing  the  capacity 
of  transmitting  sound.  By  a  system  of  telegraphy,  known 
only  to  themselves,  they  could  reproduce  at  a  far  distant 
end  of  such  a  vegetable  cable  the  sounds  made  by  sharp 
blows  of  a  hammer.  In  this  way  they  were  able  to 
transmit  information  and  to  indicate  accurately  the  point 
at  which,  from  the  highest  headland,  the  enemies'  ship 
could  be  seen  approaching. 

Nothing  could  have  better  served  the  purpose  of  the 
Sargassons  for  the  transmission  of  information  than  these 
long,  woody-hearted  roots.  The  absence  of  pith  greatly 
increased  the  power  of  conducting  sound.  Although  the 
vessel  of  the  Chief  Kanloon  was  a  day's  journey  distant,  it 
was  possible  to  send  a  communication  thither  and  re 
ceive  an  answer  in  about  two  hours. 


MAKING  NEW  BOA  T8.  129 

The  problem  of  reprovisioning  the  Happy  Shark 
{became  tone  of  serious  moment.  Dissatisfaction  was 
spreading  among  the  men,  and  my  supremacy  was  seri 
ously  threatened. 

During  short  journeys  across  a  part  of  the  floating 
sod,  I  had  noticed  that  the  tree  branches  submerged  in  the 
water  were  covered  with  small  shell  fish,  like  young 
oysters.  I  had  a  large  quantity  of  these  bivalves  col 
lected,  and  deliberately  flew  in  the  face  of  the  Sargasson 
law  that  prohibited  fire  on  the  ships  by  having  a  chowder 
prepared.  There  was  a  large  boiler  on  the  forward  part 
of  the  main  deck  of  the  Happy  Shark,  just  over  the  fo'cas- 
tie,  and  at  night  I  set  a  fire  going  under  it.  I  dared  not 
cook  in  the  daytime,  because  the  column  of  ascending 
smoke  would  have  indicated  me  as  a  violator  of  the  laws. 
The  boatswain  produced  the  flame  in  the  most  primitive 
fashion  by  sharpening  a  stick  at  both  ends  and  twirlirg 
it  by  means  of  a  silversmith's  bow  and  cord  until  it  ignited. 

The  odor  of  food  was  soon  perceptible  ?bout  the 
ship.  All  the  men  were  awakened  and  served  \vi  h  a 
dish  of  the  stew.  I  thickened  it  with  pieces  of  sun-dried 
farina,  and  flavored  it  with  some  of  the  herbs  that  I  had 
discovered  growing  wild  upon  the  green  meadows. 

In  a  few  days  this  new  addition  to  the  Sargasson  cui 
sine  made  me  the  most  popular  commander  in  all  the 
community. 

But  one  doesn't  have  to  go  to  the  Seaweed  Sea  to 
learn  that  if  you  touch  a  man's  stomach  you  win  his 
heart. 


130  WU8INQ. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

I  BECOME  A  SARGASSON. 

Soon  after  the  events  narrated  in  the  previous  chap 
ter  I  was  busy  at  noonday  taking  an  observation  as  to 
our  exact  latitude  and  longitude,  when  Fidette  came  run 
ning  to  me  with  the  astonishing  announcement  that  a 
large  galley  was  coming  down  the  Grand  Canal,  making 
straight  for  the  Happy  Shark.  I  laid  down  my  quadrant 
and  called  all  the  men  to  quarters.  I  had  no  means  of 
knowing  whether  the  call  was  a  friendly  or  unfriendly 
one.  Our  boats  were  not  entirely  completed,  and,  had 
they  been,  we  could  not  have  offered  any  real  resistance 
to  this  large  war  canoe  with  its  thirty  men. 

The  first  mate  was  sent  forward  to  speak  the  craft 
as  soon  as  she  came  within  hailing  distance,  and  he  re 
turned  with  the  information  that  the  men  in  command  of 
the  boat  bore  a  communication  from  the  High  Priest  of 
the  Sacred  Fire.  We  were  summoned,  Fidette  and  I,  to 
the  august  presence,  in  order  that  the  religions  marriage 
ceremonies  might  be  performed. 

Here  was  a  perilous  situation  for  me. 

Nearly  three  days  would  be  required  for  the  com 
plete  journey,  during  which  I  had  no  guarantee  that  my 
men  would  not  overthrow  my  supremacy.  I  likewise 
doubted  the  good  faith  of  the  High  Priest,  and  of  the 
barbarians  he  had  sent  to  conduct  us  to  him.  When,  how 
ever,  the  formidable  document  was  passed  over  the  ship's 
side  and  Fidette  had  carefully  scrutinized  the  writing 


I  BECOME  A  SARGASSON.  1*1 

upon  the  tarpon  scales,  she  decided  that  we  dare  not 
disregard  the  command. 

The  thought  promptly  suggested  itself  to  me  that 
the  crew  of  the  Unk-ta-hee,  as  the  Priest's  barge  was 
called,  should  be  invited  on  board  and  fed.  I  was  about 
to  give  an  order  to  that  effect,  when,  fortunately,  I  con 
sulted  the  first  mate,  and  learned  that  such  a  custom  is 
entirely  unheard  of  in  Sargasso — the  distrust  being  so 
general  that  no  Kantoon  would  seriously  contemplate  in 
viting  more  than  two  or  three  strange  men  on  board  his 
ship  at  one  time.  I  then  saw  that  the  visiting  boat  had 
come  fully  provisioned,  for  the  men  began  to  eat  their 
midday  meal  while  they  rested. 

Naturally,  Fidette  desired  to  present  herself  in  as 
attractive  a  manner  as  possible  before  the  Archimandrite 
of  the  floating  monastery.  This  strange  and  mysterious 
place  was  an  object  of  dread  to  most  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  archipelagic  community.  It  was  never  visited  by 
any  citizen  of  Sargasso,  except  on  just  such  occasions  as 
this,  and  the  strictest  secrecy  was  always  enjoined  upon 
those  who  had  been  there. 

In  less  than  an  hour  after  the  formal  command  of 
the  High  Priest  had  been  delivered  to  us.  I  had  placed 
my  ship  in  charge  of  the  first  mate,  and,  taking  with  me 
only  a  few  articles  of  wearing  apparel  and  my  chronome- 
ter  and  quadrant  (which  I  had  never  allowed  to  go  out 
of  my  possession  for  an  instant  since  their  return  to  me), 
I  awaited  Fidette  outside  her  cabin,  prepared  to  make 
the  vovage  on  the  Unk-ta-hee. 

This  boat  was  about  sixty  feet  long,  fashioned  from 
a  solid  tree  trunk,  and  resembled  an  African  war  canoe. 

The  dear  little  woman  lingered  over  her  toilet.  She 
knew  the  hardships  of  the  journey,  and  brought  with  her 
some  sea-grass  blankets.  Finally  she  appeared,  and,  trip 
ping  across  the  deck  of  the  Happy  Shark  toward  me,  she 
waved  an  adieu  to  all  her  old  shipmates.  The  spectacle 
affected  me  very  deeply.  These  grizzly  men,  most  of 


132  MISSINQ. 

whom  had  known  Fidette  from  her  earliest  infancy,  were 
affected  to  boisterous  laughter — that  being  the  Sargasson 
method  of  expressing  sorrow. 

Tears  were  unknown  among  the  People  of  the  Salted 
Seas. 

As  we  crossed  the  side  of  the  ship  to  enter  the  Unk- 
ta-hee,  we  observed  that  a  small  but  neat  cabin  had  been 
fitted  up  astern  for  my  Fidette.  It  was  a  rude  affair,  formed 
of  reed  matting,  and  occupied  a  space  in  the  barge  just 
aft  the  chief  paddler.  It  was  barely  long  enough  for 
the  little  creature  to  rest  at  full  length,  but  was  without 
a  roof  to  protect  the  inmate  from  the  rain  or  dew. 
As  I  have  said  before,  Sargassons  never  desired  to  be 
sheltered  from  the  rain;  had  they  dwelt  in  houses,  like 
other  people,  their  structures  would  have  been  roofless. 
The  heat  of  the  sun  was  very  oppressive  to  them.  Had 
the  crew  of  the  Happy  Shark  lived  ashore  they  probably 
would  have  burrowed  in  the  gjound*  and  passed  the  heat 
of  the  day  in  cellars. 

No  sooner  had  Fidette  and  I  stepped  into  the  great 
barge  than  the  command  was  given  to  push  off,  and  after 
a  few  moments  the  paddlers  gradually  increased  the  speed 
of  the  heavy  wooden  canoe. 

We  stood  up  in  the  open  part  of  the  barge,  waving 
a  farewell  to  our  comrades  on  the  Happy  Shark.  We  did 
not  know  that  we  were  taking  final  leave  of  the  vessel. 
As  long  as  possible  we  kept  the  dear  old  craft  in  sight. 
To  Fidette  the  tenderest  memories  centred  about  the 
only  home  she  had  ever  known. 

We  were  bound  upon  a  journey,  the  exact  purport 
of  which  we  did  not  understand,  and  we  were  troubled  in 
our  minds  as  to  its  outcome. 

On  the  barge,  which  sat  low  in  the  water,  it  was  not 
possible  to  keep  the  Happy  Shark  in  sight  for  more  than 
an  hour.  At  the  end  of  that  time  new  scenes  and  new  in 
cidents  attracted  our  attention,  and  the  long  afternoon 
passed  agreeably.  We  were  rowed  within  close  prox- 


I  BECOME  A  SAKGASSON.  133 

imity  to  more  than  two  hundred  derelicts,  all  inhabited, 
all  having  their  individual  social  organizations,  and  all 
amenable  to  the  supreme  direction  of  the  Chief  Kanloon, 
who  existed  on  some  far-away  and  stately  ship,  unseen 
and  unknown  by  sight  to  almost  everybody  in  the  entire 
nation,  but  always  revered,  respected  and  obeyed. 

Just  at  dark  we  passed  very  near  a  ship  in  the  last 
stages  of  dry  rot.  The  antique  craft  had  become  so  ex 
cessively  buoyant  that  it  stood  high  out  of  water,  arid 
was  liable  to  capsize  at  any  moment.  The  crew  of  that 
vessel  might  have  allowed  some  water  to  enter  the  hold 
to  have  submerged  their  craft  to  the  load  line,  but  they 
dared  not  remove  the  plugs  from  the  hull,  for  when  these 
were  once  extracted  by  the  Kantoon,  with  the  ceremonial 
usual  on  such  occasions,  Sargasson  formality  forbade  a 
stopping  of  the  inflow  of  water. 

To  me  the  scene  was  very  pathetic,  and  I  imagined 
that  I  could  see  in  the  resigned  and  beatific  countenances 
of  the  various  members  of  the  crew  a  foreknowledge  of 
their  impending  doom.  I  nowhere  saw  any  exhibitions 
of  fear,  desire  to  escape,  or,  what  was  equally  sad  to  me, 
of  hope. 

As  we  progressed,  the  ships  were  arranged  more 
closely  together — less  intervening  sod  separating  them. 

The  twilight  was  very  brief,  but  just  before  the  sun 
took  its  last  drop  into  the  water  and  night  came,  we  passed 
a  vessel  on  which  was  a  band  of  musicians,  who  pro 
duced  the  most  extraordinary  noises  that  had  ever  greeted 
my  ears.  The  instruments  were  chiefly  of  wood,  con 
structed  after  the  manner  of  dulcimers,  and  the  musical 
sounds  were  produced  by  beating  upon  strips  of  wood 
of  various  sizes,  which  hung  from  the  standing  rigging. 
The  effect  was  weird,  and,  although  a  defective  note  fre 
quently  marred  the  harmony,  it  was  a  pleasing  diversion, 
not  only  for  the  Sargassons,  but  for  me.  Our  thirty 
paddlers  were  allowed  to  rest  and  listen  to  the  Sarg'asson 
national  hymn. 


134  MISSING. 

The  commander  of  the  barge  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity,  and  served  supper  to  all  hands. 

One  of  the  darkest  nights  I  ever  experienced  in  my 
whole  career  at  sea  followed.  The  moon  was  at  the  full, 
but  a  mass  of  clouds,  black  as  ink,  obscured  her  and  the 
evening  star. 

We  soon  composed  ourselves  to  sleep.  The  sturdy 
men  at  the  paddles  evidently  slept  while  they  worked. 
No  galley  slaves  toiled  more  unceasingly  than  did  this 
volunteer  crew  of  Sargassons,  intent  only  on  my  formal 
admission  to  all  the  sacred  rights  of  this  strange  people. 

A  perfect  knowledge  of  the  route  over  which  we 
traveled  was  shown  by  the  commander.  He  steered  the 
craft  with  a  large  oar,  which!  he  shifted  from  one  side  to 
the  other,  as  was  necessary,  on  occasions  exerting  great 
strength  where  a  sharp  turn  was  to  be  made.  Not  a 
light  was  in  sight. 

Even  my  practiced  eyes  could  not  distinguish  the 
tod  line  that  formed  the  banks  of  the  canal,  and  I  fully 
appreciated  the  difficulty  of  the  pilot's  work. 

As  dawn  came,  we  were  awakened  by  the  singing  of 
birds.  We  rose  and  looked  about  us.  The  men  were 
still  laboring  at  the  paddles  with  swaying  bodies,  all  mov 
ing  in  unison,  their  heads  resting  on  their  arms,  and  their 
faces,  with  tightly  closed  eyes,  turned  from  the  glare  of 
the  rising  sun.  The  air  was  very  balmy,  and  the  sky  was 
as  blue  as  it  is  in  Andalusia  in  early  Spring. 

Fidette  and  I  stood  up  and!  gazed  upon  the  scene. 
Larks  and  mocking  birds  could  be  heard  on  all  sides, 
singing  cheerily.  Only  a  short  distance  ahead  we  be 
held  the  open  water  of  the  Inland  Sea,  at  the  further  side 
of  which  we  had  been  informed  was  moored  the  floating 
palace  of  the  Chief  Kantoon.  I  had  no  trouble  in  getting 
my  bearings.  The  rising  sun  clearly  indicated  the  east, 
and  on  consulting  the  small  compass  that  I  always  car 
ried,  I  found  that  the  needle  had  suddenly  swung  four 
points  from  due  north,  and  now  pointed  directly  to  the 


/  BECOME  A  SARGASSON.  135 

northwest.  Some  new  magic  influence  had  evidently 
affected  the  needle!  I  recalled  the  fact  that  Columbus, 
in  his  journeys,  had  experienced  a  somewhat  similar  de 
viation  in  the  mid-Atlantic,  although  he  only  skirted  the 
outer  edge  of  the  Sargasson  continent. 

The  silence  of  this  vast  Inland  Sea  was  depressing. 
Although  we  were  in  the  mid-Atlantic,  the  far-stretching 
blanket  of  sod  that  lay  upon  the  bosom  of  the  deep,  re 
pressed  its  energy  to  such  a  degree  that  the  ordinary 
swell  of  the  ocean  was  barely  noticeable.  Literally,  it  was  a 
tideless  sea.  I  had  expected  that  the  Sargassons  would 
paddle  boldly  out  into  the  centre  of  this  large  lake,  but 
the  commander  carefully  kept  near  the  sod  bank  that 
outlined  it. 

It  was  high  noon  when  we  approached  the  huge  ark 
where  dwelt  the  Chief  Kantoon.  We  were  expected,  and 
the  gangway  of  the  ship  was  neatly  trimmed  with  sea 
grass  matting  of  brilliant  hues. 

We  soon  rowed  alongside,  and,  with  some  trepida 
tion,  I  took  Fidette's  hand  and  assisted  her  up  the  steps. 
We  were  received  on  deck  by  a  young  priest  in  full  vest 
ments,  while  a  choir  of  boys  sang  what  was  evidently  a 
hymn  of  welcome.  Not  a  word  of  reception  was  spoken. 
After  bowing  low,  we  were  immediately  taken  to  a  cabin, 
in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  table  laden  with  fruit,  and 
upon  which,  to  my  amazement,  stood  a  flagon  of  orange- 
hued  wine,  evidently  of  native  manufacture.  I  had  not 
had  the  opportunity  to  dampen  my  palate  with  anything 
of  the  kind  for  so  many  months  that,  when  an  attendant 
poured  me  out  at  cup  of  the  pale  yellow  fluid,  I  accepted 
it  and  drank  without  hesitation.  Fidette  did  the  same. 

During  this  entertainment,  I  had  an  oportunity  Ic 
look  around  the  cabin.  It  was  the  most  curious  wonder- 
shop  I  had  ever  entered.  Its  walls  were  hung  with 
shields  and  pieces  of  silverware.  Hundreds  of  quaint 
knives  and  cutlasses  were  assembled  in  clusters  on  the 
ceiling  and  in  the  corners.  Trophies  from  every  ship 


186  MISSING. 

that  had  joined  the  community  were  to  be  seen.  Price 
less  gems,  in  antique  settings,  were  arranged  in  rosettes 
upon  the  grass-cloth  draperies.  Beautiful  articles  ot 
beaten  gold,  evidently  fashioned  from  nuggets,  formed 
by  melting  down  that  most  useless  commodity  among 
the  Sargassons,  the  coin  of  commerce,  rested  upon  the 
table  and  upon  the  shelves  in  various  parts  of  the  cabin. 
Indeed,  we  ate  our  modest  luncheon  of  berries  and 
oranges  from  golden  dishes, 


A  SOLEMN  CEREMONIAL.  187 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  SOLEMN  CEREMONIAL. 

In  excellent  French  the  attendant  instructed  us  as  ta 
our  part  in  the  approaching  ceremonial.  Two  robes  ot 
Chinese  silk,  reaching  to  our  feet,  were  handed  us,  and 
we  were  told  to  array  ourselves.  I  was  very  glad  of  thi§, 
as  I  had  only  partially  adopted  the  garb  of  the  Sargas~ 
sons,  and  my  clothing  was  badly  worn  and  shiny.  Fidette, 
I  imagine,  was  much  annoyed  at  this  suggestion,  not 
wishing  to  make  the  change  from  the  pretty  costume  of 
grass-cloth  that  she  had  fashioned  writh  her  own  fingers  to 
the  shroud-like  garment,  which  did  not  set  off  her  pretty 
figure  to  advantage.  The  orders  of  the  attendant,  how 
ever,  were  imperative,  and  we  were  soon  ready  for  the 
solemn  ceremonial. 

When  we  were  ready  to  meet  the  Chief  Kantoon,  we 
were  attended  by  the  same  priest  who  had  welcomed  us 
to  the  ship,  and  we  were  also  accompanied  by  the  choir 
of  boys,  who,  during  our  slow  and  solemn  walk  from 
the  reception  cabin  to  the  large  and  imposing  after-cabin, 
chanted  a  processional  hymn. 

Fidette  appeared  to  be  in  ^n  ecstasy  of  delight,  but 
for  my  part  I  could  not  shake  off  the  feeling  that  we  weft 
the  central  figures  in  a  requiem  mass,  instead  of  a  glo 
rious  ceremonial  of  sanctification.  I  was  depressed, 
therefore,  rather  than  exhilarated. 

The  after  part  of  the  ship,  that  had  been 


138  MISSING. 

for  the  initiation,  was  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  deck 
by  a  hedge  of  orchids,  growing  in  a  series  of  rude  boxes. 
A  doorway  in  the  centre  was  covered  by  portieres  of 
grass-cloth,  which,  as  we  approached,  were  slowly  drawn 
apart. 

As  we  entered,  I  was  impressed  with  the  beauty  and 
solemnity  of  the  scene. 

The  Chief  Kantoon  sat  upon  a  raised  dais,  directly 
at  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  and  on  his  immediate  right, 
equally  elevated,  sat  the  High  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire. 
He  was  vested  in  a  chasuble  of  black,  much  after  the 
manner  of  the  priests  who  celebrate  mass  in  our  Ameri 
can  churches.  Near  him  and  behind  were  ranged  attend 
ing  acolytes,  wearing  long  copes  of  lustreless,  sea-green 
hue.  To  the  immediate  left  of  the  Chief  Kantoon  stood 
the  six  members  of  his  cabinet.  They  were  all  savage- 
visaged  men,  dressed  in  simple  tunics,  woven  of  sea 
grass,  and  bare  as  to  their  arms  and  legs.  Without  any 
of  the  sacred  character  that  appertained  to  the  priesthood 
near  by,  they  possessed  a  far  more  imposing  aspect. 
Their  complexions  were  all  sun-bronzed.  Their  figures 
recalled  pictures  that  I  had  seen  in  books  of  the  Huns 
that  overran  the  Roman  Empire. 

While  I  was  making  these  observations,  a  doiible 
line  of  Seminarians  had  ascended  from  the  lower  deck; 
separating  at  the  mainmast,  one  column  had  passed  to 
the  right  and  one  to  the  left,  completely  encircling  us  as 
we  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  sky-roofed  cabin.  Without 
any  prelude  or  observable  signal,  the  attending  priests 
and  Seminarians  broke  forth  in  a  Kyrie-like  invocation, 
quite  resembling  the  first  movement  of  the  mass  in  the 
Roman  churches  immediately  preceding  the  communion 
service.  This  was  of  brief  duration,  and  at  its  conclusion 
the  High  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire,  who  had  remained 
standing  throughout  the  Kyrie,  took  up  the  solemn  cere 
monial  of  the  Water  Worshipers.  Speaking  chiefly  in 
Portuguese,  but  following  the  usage  of  the  Sargassons 


A  SOLEMN  CEREMONIAL.  189 

and  interpolating'  words  of  French,  English,  Italian,  Ger 
man  and  Spanish  wherever  his  vocabulary  failed  him, 
the  High  Priest  offered  a  rhapsody  to  the  sea,  which  I 
venture  to  translate  in  the  following-  language: 

"The  Ocean.  It  covereth  all.  It  telleth  nothing. 
It  is  silent — secretive  as  the  dead  ones.  Death  is  our  por 
tion.  It  endeth  all.  It  maketh  us  glad.  We  are  of  the 
sea,  for  it  encompasseth  us  about  like  a  mantle,  shielding* 
us  from  the  miseries  of  the  savage  world." 

Here  the  choir  broke  forth  into  a  Kyrie  Eleison,  in 
words  that  might  be  interpreted: 

"O  most  gracious  Ruler  of  the  Seaweed  Sea,  be  mer 
ciful  unto  us.  Amen." 

Following  which  the  High  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire 
continued: 

"Hail,  welcoming  arms  of  the  Sea!  We  are  at  peace 
upon  thy  heaving  bosom.  Thy  warm  breath  enchants 
us.  We  are  as  driftwood  in  thy  grasp.  Do  thou,  O 
glorious  Sea,  continue  to  endure  us.  We  love  thee.  No 
other  thoughts  but  of  thee  constrain  us.  Do  suffer  us  to 
exist,  that  we  may  know  thou  ever  loveth  us." 

As  the  High  Priest  paused,  the  choir  again  chanted: 

"Adoration  ever.     O  forgiving  Sea,  endure  us." 

Resuming,  the  High  Priest  said:  "Hail  to  the  attend 
ants  of  the  Sea,  the  Clouds — the  homeless,  wandering 
Clouds.  Like  unto  us  are  they.  Nor  home,  nor  friends  ; 
but,  like  us,  are  they  of  the  elements  of  the  sea  and  not 
of  the  land.  Tis  ours  to  roll  and  roll  till  life  doth  cease 
to  be.  O  splendid,  boundless  Sea,  the  wealth  of  all  the 
world  is  thine;  and  with  thee  the  burning  sun,  the  cold, 
pale  moon  and  the  twinkling  stars  make  merry  company. 
Thou  art  eternal.  None  may  measure  thee  or  sound  thy 
depths.  Amen." 

At  a  signal  from  an  attending  acolyte,  Fidette  and  I 
knelt,  slightly  turning  our  bodies  so  that  we  directly 
faced  the  Chief  Kantoon,  who,  raising  high  a  glowing 
marlinspike  heated  to  whiteness  m  the  Sacred  Fire,  ad 
ministered  the  following  oath : 


140  MIS81N0. 

"By  the  hope  of  enduring  mercy  from  the  Grand 
Kantoon  who  suffereth  us  not  to  sink,  by  the  potency  of 
the  Sacred  Fire  that  burneth  for  ages  and  is  not  con 
sumed,  we  take  this  oath  of  homage  to  the  Ocean  and 
fidelity  to  the  Sea,  and  here  accept  the  people  of  Sargasso. 
Thou,  O  Sea,  shalt  we  honor  and  serve  all  the  days  of 
our  life;  thou  shalt  we  uphold  and  defend — live  for  and 
die  for.  And  in  evidence  of  the  sacred  character  of  this 
oath,  here,  in  the  presence  of  the  High  Priest  of  ^he 
Sacred  Fire  that  burneth  forever  and  is  not  consumed, 
do  we  declare  our  lives  forfeit  if  in  thought  or  act  we 
shall  be  wanting  in  fidelity  to  the  People  of  the  Sea.  And 
we  appoint  as  our  executioners  any  living,  breathing 
creature  of  the  Sea  or  Air  if  treason  be  fastened  upon  us. 
We  devoutly  appeal  to  the  Grand  Kantoon  of  the  Sea 
and  Land,  Keeper  of  the  Homeless  Clouds,  to  strengthen 
us  in  this  faith." 

We  having  made  satisfactory  responses,  the_  Chief 
Kantoon  stepped  forward  and  touched  each  of  us  on  the 
bared  right  shoulder  with  the  glowing  marlinspike. 

As  we  rose  to  our  feet,  the  attending  choir  again 
broke  out  into  the  joyous  anthem  of  the  Water  Wor 
shipers. 

"Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Sea. 

"Msjestic  is  the  Ocean  by  day;  solemn  by  night. 

"Ours  is  the  Sea  and  Sky.  They  are  boundless. 
None  shall  intrude  upon  us." 

The  High  Priest  then  raised  his  hands  and  pro 
nounced  the  benediction.  Immediately  the  Chief  Kan 
toon  stepped  down  from  the  throne,  and,  holding  out  a 
hand  to  each  of  us,  graciously  suffered  it  to  be  kissed. 
Then,  drawing  from  his  girdle  a  sheaf  of  inscribed  tarpon 
scales,  he  selected  two,  of  which  he  handed  me  the  first, 
saying: 

'"I  herewith  confer  upon  you  the  title  of  Kantoon  in 
token  of  your  union  with  our  people."  Then,  tendering 
me  the  second  scale,  with  its  pale  blue  inscription,  he 


A  SOLEMN  CEREMONIAL.  141 

concluded:  "You  are  restored  to  your  ship,  and  from  this 
moment  are  the  commander  of  the  Caribas.  He  who  is 
at  present  in  charge  will,  upon  the  presentation  of  this 
token,  destroy  himself  after  an  old  and  accepted  belief 
among  the  Sargassons  that  when  a  Kantoon  is_  super 
seded  he  must  disappear  forever.  Retrogression  is  dis 
grace!  This  commander  whom  you  supplant  has  been 
treacherous  to  others,  and  it  is  our  fear  that  he  will  be 
treacherous  to  us.  Therefore  give  I  you  this  ship.  It  is 
yours.  Possess  it,  if  necessary,  at  the  point  of  the  knife." 

The  announcement  that  we  were  not  to  return  to  the 
Happy  Shark  filled  poor  Fidette  with  anguish.  She 
burst  into  a  flood  of  tears  that  no  words  from  me  could 
check.  I  couldi  not  blame  her.  Her  entire  life  was 
identified  with  her  old  home,  but  she  was  too  familiar 
with  the  laws  of  her  people  not  to  know  that  no  wish  of 
hers  would  have  any  influence  upon  the  Chief  Kantoon. 

To  me  the  change  from  the  Happy  Shark  to  the 
Caribas  was  welcome.  I  felt  that  I  would  be  more  con 
tented.  I  knew  that  the  stanch  iron  vessel  would  remain 
afloat  at  least  thirty  years,  and  I  was  satisfied  to  accept 
that  span  of  life.  By  that  time,  thought  I,  our  love  may 
have  grown  cold,  and  both  Fidette  and  I  may  welcome 
the  end. 

I  was  now  a  Sargasson  by  all  the  sacred  laws,  and, 
had  I  had  the  entire  fleet  of  vessels  to  choose  from,  I 
certainly  would  have  selected  my  own  ship,  to  which  I 
had  been  so  graciously  assigned. 

I  was  bewildered  by  the  incidents  that  followed.  We 
were  surrounded  by  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  Sargasson 
people.  We  were  conducted  to  the  table  and  invited  to 
partake  of  the  fruits  and  shellfish  there  bestowed.  We 
were  exhilarated  and  refreshed  with  copious  libations  of 
the  orange-hued  wine  before  mentioned.^ 

Then  succeeded  merrymaking  and  a  dance  combin 
ing  the  most  hilarious  features  of  the  Bamboola,  Cachu- 
cha,  Tarantella,  Money  Musk  and  Virginia  Reel.  It 


142  MISSING. 

was,  if  anything1,  more  violent  than  the  famous  "Dance  cf 
the  Derelicts,"  which  always  closed  the  "Week  of  Silence." 
This  I  have  previously  described.  In  the  sports,  Fidette 
won  great  praise. 

The  daughters  of  the  other  Kantoons  in  the  com 
munity,  to  the  number  of  forty,  were  present,  but  none 
of  them  looked  so  pretty  or  behaved  so  charmingly  as 
my  cwx  Fidette. 

f  accepted  my  fate. 

One  can  be  miserable  in  other  places  than  Sargasso. 
I  know  something  of  the  "civilized"  world.  In  it  are  toil 
and  sorrow — yes,  worry  and  want.  All  the  misery  in 
New  York  is  not  found  in  the  slums.  It  exists  elsewhere. 
With  my  own  eyes  have  I  seen  men  stalking  about  the 
streets  and  exchanges  suffering  the  mental  tortures  of 
the  damned. 

We  call  that  civilization, 


THE  NE  W  LIFE.  143 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  NEW  LIFE. 

The  hour  for  our  departure  to  our  new  home  ap 
proached.  Twilight,  that  period  of  indefinite  length  be 
tween  darkness  and  daylight,  was  at  hand.  The  sun  had 
disappeared  behind  the  western  horizon  for  quite  a  time, 
and  out  a  low  cloudbank  to  the  eastward,  pale  and  cold 
as  the  Sargasson  blood,  rose  the  full  moon,  at  first  sight 
of  which  all  the  ship's  company  cast  themselves  upon 
their  knees  and  worshiped.  For  the  sun  the  Sargassons 
felt  no  respect.  They  saw  it  rise  and  set  without  emo 
tion.  To  them  "Apollo  and  his  fiery  steeds"  never  drove 
across  the  sky;  to  them  no  regnant  orb  of  fire  ruled  su 
preme  the  brotherhood  of  worlds.  To  them  the  moon, 
so  pale,  so  cold,  so  self-possessed,  was  Mistress  of  the 
Universe. 

Our  departure  was  invested  with  even  more  solem 
nity  than  our  reception.  We  were  reconducted  to  the 
cabin  at  the  bow  of  the  ship,  where  we  resumed  our 
clothing.  In  place  of  the  short  jacket  that  I  had!  worn  I 
received,  as  a  gift,  a  coat  of  sun-tanned  walrus  skin  that 
incased  my  burly  form  without  a  wrinkle. 

The  barge,  with  all  its  men  in  place,  was  awaiting 
us  at  the  ship's  side.  I  noticed  at  once  that  the  paddlers 
were  heavily  armed.  We  descended,  and  were  soon 
moving  off  along  the  shores  of  the  tideless  lake. 

Before  we  had  gone  far,  I  observed  that  we  were 
treated  more  deferentially  than  we  had  bsen  on  our  up- 


144  MISSING. 

ward  journey.    Nothing1  could  have  exceeded  the  re 
spect  shown  us  by  the  commander  of  the  barge. 

The  effect  of  the  pale  moonlight  upon  the  almost 
black  surface  of  the  Inland  Sea  was  very  striking.  It 
made  a  path  across  the  water  as  broad  as  a  city  thor 
oughfare,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  Fidette,  the  man  at 
the  tiller  kept  our  galley  directly  in  this  path  of  silver 
sheen.  Our  course  lay  eastward,  and  it  was  not  until 
after  midnight  that  we  reached  the  outlet  of  the  great 
lake.  Although  the  coast  line  of  floating  sod  was  with 
out  any  lighthouse  or  other  marks  of  direction,  the  man 
who  was  directing  the  galley  found  no  difficulty  in  enter 
ing  the  Grand  Canal. 

After  the  strange  and  curious  events  of  the  day,  it 
was  not  remarkable  that  sleep  should  refuse  to  visit  us. 

Fidette  and  I  were  both  suffering  from  the  ghastly 
brand  upon  our  shoulders,  despite  the  attention  which 
the  surgeon  on  the  ship  of  the  Chief  Kantoon  had 
given  us. 

After  midnight  I  fell  into  a  troubled  sleep,  and  did 
not  awaken  until  broad  daylight.  Apparently,  there  was 
a  strong  current  in  our  favor,  because  the  oarsmen  made 
very  much  better  time  returning  than  upon  the  upward 
journey.  Although  the  Caribas  was  not  in  sight,  I  was 
able  to  recognize  several  landmarks. 

A  cold  breakfast  was  served,  consisting  of  baked 
shellfish  and  fruit,  and  we  ate  heartily.  The  men  at  the 
paddles  had  been  fed  about  daylight,  and  had  eaten  as 
they  worked. 

The  forenoon  passed  slowly.  The  sun  was  very 
warm,  but  the  men  never  flagged  in  their  steady  and 
energetic  stroke. 

About  12  o'clock,  as  nearly  as  I  could  estimate, 
turning  a  sharp  bend  in  the  canal,  the  Caribas  was  des 
cried  straight  ahead,  distant  about  eight  miles.  I  knew 
her  instantly  because  of  the  excellent  condition  of  her 
standing  rigging.  She  was  hull  down,  but  I  could  not 


THE  NEW  LIFE.  146 

be  mistaken  about  her  topmast.  I  pointed  out  our  fu 
ture  home  to  Fidette,  and,  as  I  expected,  she  indulged  in 
a  very  womanish  bit  of  crying.  It  was  in  vain  that  I 
attempted  to  divert  her  thoughts  and  told  her  of  all  the 
future  happiness  in  store  for  her  in  our  new  home.  I 
called  her  attention  to  the  fact  that  all  the  joys  that  had 
been  hers  on  the  Happy  Shark  were  gone.  I  dwelt  upon 
the  fact  that  it  had  been  her  father's  wish  that  I  should 
regain  my  ship.  I  spoke  of  its  luxuries,  its  modern  ap 
pliances,  and  in  every  way  attempted  to  interest  the  dear 
little  woman. 

As  we  neared  the  Caribas,  I  detected  our  helmsman 
giving  orders  by  signs,  interjected  with  an  occasional 
word  that  I  did  not  understand.  Although  I  called 
Fidette's  attention  to  the  circumstance,  she  was  quite  as 
unable  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  helmsman's 
conduct.  Observing  for  myself,  I  saw  that  every  man, 
in  the  boat  took  out  from  its  sheath  and  carefully  exam 
ined  a  long,  ugly-looking  knife. 

I  feared  that  we  were  about  to  be  assassinated. 
With  as  much  dignity  as  possible,  I  made  my  way 
to  the  stern  of  the  boat  and  demanded  an  explanation 
of  the  officer. 

He  explained  that  he  had  special  orders  from  the 
Chief  Kantoon  to  place  me  in  possession  of  my  ship,  and 
that  he  intended  to  do  so.  He  expected  opposition. 
The  present  captain  of  the  Caribas  was  a  plucky  young1 
man,  who  wrould  fight.  The  contest  would  be  apparently 
an  uneven  one,  because  the  prize  crew  of  the  Caribas  out 
numbered  the  force  in  the  galley  two  to  one.  He  relied, 
however,  upon  the  authority  that  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  Chief  Kantoon  and  the  general  respect  for 
the  ruler  of  the  Sargassons.  He  believed  that  after  he 
had  publicly  exhibited  to  the  men  on  the  Caribas  the 
green  tarpon  scale,  which  would  be  recognized  at  once 
as  a  message  from  the:  Chief  Kantoon,  opposition  would 
cease.  The  mutinous  commander  would  be  seized  and 
promptly  executed. 


146  MISSING. 

I  felt  regret  at  this  summary  disposal  of  my  unknown 
rival.  During  the  whole  journey  I  had  been  attempting 
to  conceive  of  some  means  by  which  his  life  might  be 
spared.  I  hated  to  rise  to  power  and  influence  over  the 
dead  body  of  a  man  who,  I  assumed,  had  never  done  me 
wrong,  but  I  had  not  found  any  means  of  preventing  the 
catastrophe.  The  will  of  the  Chief  Kantoon  was  law  in 
Sargasso.  Nobody,  high  or  low,  dared  oppose  it. 

We  were  now  within  a  cable's  length  of  my  old  ship. 
In  prospect  of  the  change  of  commanders,  the  hull  had 
been  scraped  of  barnacles,  and  the  dear  craft  looked  as 
neat  as  in  her  palmiest  days.  Excepting  the  man  on  the 
bridge,  I  saw  no  evidence  of  life  on  the  ship. 

We  reached  the  landing  stage,  that  had  been  erected 
for  the  occasion,  and  the  young  officer  in  charge  of  our 
boat's  crew  fearlessly  seized  a  dangling  rope's  end  and 
climbed  over  the  ship's  side.  He  held  in  his  teeth  the 
talismanic  tarpon  scale.  He  knew,  as  I  did,  that  it  was 
his  sole  palladium  of  safety.  Without  it  he  would  have 
been  set  upon  the  instant  he  touched  the  deck  and  cut 
to  pieces.  Close  behind  him  followed  twenty  of  the 
barge's  crew.  There  was  no  concealment  of  the  knives. 
After  the  crew,  we  slowly  ascended  amid  the  cheers  of 
the  ten  men  still  remaining  in  the  barge.  Before  emerg 
ing  over  the  top  of  the  bulwarks  I  had  listened  atten 
tively  for  the  clashing  of  arms ;  but  I  heard  nothing,  and, 
when  I  reached  the  deck,  I  saw  nothing.  Four  stalwart 
members  of  our  boat's  crew  stood  there  as  guards,  with 
the  flesh-quivering  knives  in  their  hands. 

In  the  after-cabin  sat  the  late  commander  of  the 
Caribas,  tied  in  a  chair,  and  as  we  were  slowly  conducted 
back,  he  turned  his  face  in  my  direction. 

To  my  surprise,  I  recognized  the  cause  of  all  my 
trouble,  Arthur  Gray! 


THE  LAS1  OF  AN  ENEMY.  147 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  LAST  OF  AN  ENEMY. 

It  was  no  time  to  gloat  over  the  downfall  of  an 
enemy. 

I  had  attained  the  coveted  position  of  a  Kantoonship 
among  the  Sargassons,  and  I  was  to  occupy  it  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  life  of  the  man  who  had  been  the  means  of 
bringing  me  among  these  strange  people,  who  had  just 
shown  their  appreciation  and  respect  by  conferring  a 
high  dignity  upon  me. 

Unacquainted  as  I  was  with  the  history  of  Arthur 
Gray  prior  to  my  arrival  in  the  community  I  could  not 
pass  judgment  upon  the  acts  of  my  fellow  Sargassons. 
I  had  lost  sight  of  Gray  in  the  stirring  events  that  had 
filled  the  previous  months  of  my  stay  on  the  Happy 
Shark,  and  although  it  was  considered  quite  improper  to 
inquire  regarding  the  fate  of  missing  members  of  the 
community,  I  had  tried,  on  several  occasions,  to  ascertain 
what  had  become  of  him.  I  had  been  told  that  he  was 
killed  in  the  attack  on  the  Caribas.  There  certainly  had 
been  some  mystery  attending  the  period  of  Gray's  ex 
istence  between  that  memorable  capture  and  the  fatal 
hour  in  which  I  again  crossed  his  path.  It  was  strange 
that  we  individually  were  responsible  for  the  misfortunes 
that  had  overtaken  each  of  us. 

These  thoughts  were  dominant  in  my  mind  as  I 


148  MISSING 

stood  on  the  deck  of  my  old  ship,  contemplating  my  now 
humiliated  and  condemned  enemy.  To  his  credit,  I  must 
say  that  Gray  did  not  evince  any  humiliation  or  seek  to 
curry  favor.  He  was  already  tightly  bound  in  a  pecul 
iarly  constructed  chair,  in  which  condemned  Kan  toons 
were  drowned. 

This  seat  was  made  of  three  boards,  fashioned  quite 
like  a  rustic  chair  found  in  our  American  Summer  houses 
and  parks.  Into  the  longest  piece  of  board  was  mortised 
a  seat,  and  this  rude  chair  was  made  to  stand  by  being 
inclined  backward  and  supported  by  a  prop,  similar  to 
that  which  holds  an  easel  in  position.  Devices  like  this 
existed  on  every  Kantoonment,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  ready  whenever  wanted. 

The  custom  under  which  each  commander  kept  a 
device  for  his  own  destruction  in  case  of  condemnation 
may  appear  strange  to  those  who  are  not  familiar  with 
the  habits  of  this  people.  And  yet,  when  a  boy  in  the 
United  States,  I  remember  distinctly  to  have  known  a 
neighbor  family  that  had  resided  for  several  generations 
in  the  same  dwelling-house.  With  the  boys  of  my  own 
age  in  this  family  I  was  on  friendly  terms,  and  I  recollect 
repeatedly  to  have  been  shown  a  broad  board  that  was 
carefully  placed  above  the  kitchen  cupboard,  and  upon 
which,  I  was  gravely  informed,  all  members  of  the  Baxter 
household  were  laid  out  and  prepared  for  the  grave. 
That  broad  board  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  famliy  pos 
sessions  as  its  silverware,  its  cameo  pins  and  other  heir 
looms.  I  remember  an  occasion,  when  most  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  family  were  absent,  the  eldest  boy  and  myself 
carefully  took  the  board  from  the  cupboard,  and,  with 
the  assistance  of  two  barrels,  constructed  a  rude  counter, 
across  which  we  dispensed  vinegar  soda  water,  grapevine- 
leaf  cigars  and  apples  of  suspicious  character. 

This  was  not  in  Sargasso,  but  in  the  suburbs  of  my 
native  city  of  Brooklyn. 

"This  must  gratify  you  very  much,  Clark,"  began 


THE  LAST  OF  AN  ENEMY  149 

Gray,  in  thoroughly  good  English.  "I  understand  per 
fectly  what,  hopes  are  awakened  in  your  mind  by  your 
return  to  this  ship,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  that  they  are 
vain.  You  never  can  effect  your  escape  from  the  Sar 
gasso  Sea!" 

He  was  a  mind-reader! 

"What  has  become  of  the  Secor  launch?"  I  asked, 
tacitly  confessing  to  the  insinuation,  against  me. 

Gray's  face  assumed  instantly  an  expression  of  con 
tempt,  as  he  sneeringly  rejoined: 

"I  tried  to  escape  in  her,  but  in  the  absence  of  oil,  I 
found  it  impossible.  In  my  rage  and  chagrin  I  scuttled 
her.  She  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

The  commander  of  the  barge  on  which  Fidette  and  I 
had  reached  our  new  home  had  been  standing  by  during 
this  conversation.  Its  acrimony  was  clearly  observable, 
and  when  the  first  lull  occurred  in  the  conversation  :it 
this  point,  he  touched  Gray  on  the  shoulder  and  said: 

"Basta!  You  stoppa  too  longa."  Then,  turning  to 
the  half  dozen  sturdy  fellows  who  stood  beside  him,  he 
made  a  motion  of  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  Gray,  and 
said  in  fairly  good  Spanish: 

"Let  him  walk  with  God!" 

The  six  executioners  seized  hold  of  Gray,  carried 
him  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  and,  without  any  more  .ado, 
flung  chair  and  occupant  into  the  ocean, 

As  far  as  I  could  observe,  nobody  even  looked  over 
the  side  of  the  ship  to  see  that  poor  Arthur  Gray  promptly 
sank  beneath  the  brine. 

The  commander  of  the  barge,  acting  as  temporary 
executive  of  the  Caribas,  called  all  the  men  to  quarters, 
and  holding  aloft  in  his  right  hand  the  same  tarpon  scales 
that  had  been  handed  to  me  by  the  Chief  Kantoon,  in  the 
jargon  of  the  Sargassons,  officially  proclaimed  my  eleva 
tion  to  the  Kantoonship.  At  a  signal  from  him,  every 
man  on  board  saluted,  and  the  first  mate,  stepping  for 
ward,  dropped  to  the  right  knee  and  bowed  his  head. 


160  MISSING, 

As  I  had  been  instructed  to  do,  I  touched  him  twice  upon 
the  right  shoulder  with  a  marlinspike  and  bade  him  arise. 
I  assured  him  that  he  would  still  retain  his  post  as  execu 
tive  of  the  Caribas.  It  was  entirely  within  my  power, 
by  degrading  him,  to  have  condemned  him  to  death. 
Had  I  seen  fit  to  do  so,  or  had  any  grudge  provoked 
such  an  act,  the  first  mate  would  have  been  instantly 
bound  and  tossed  into  the  water,  to  share  the  fate  of  ex- 
Kantoon  Gray. 

My  purpose  in  confirming  the  position  of  the  first 
mate  was  that  I  might  attach  the  crew  to)  me  in  my  new 
and  trying  position. 

After  partaking  of  a  dinner  that  had  been  prepared 
for  the  crew  of  the  barge  on  the  main  deck,  its  com 
mander  walked  rapidly  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  where  was 
the  ladder  leading  down  to  his  boat.  Without  any  formal 
farewell,  he  and  his  sturdy  fellows  resumed  their  places 
in  the  great  canoe,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were  far 
put  in  the  Grand  Canal,  bound  homeward  on  their  long 
journey,  ending  with  their  voyage  across  the  tideless  lake. 

I  then  took  formal  possession  of  the  ship. 

I  was  surprised  how  few  changes  had  been  made  in 
my  cabin  since  that  eventful  morning  wrhen  I  had  been 
induced  to  leave  my  ship  and  crew.  In  the  centre  of 
the  deck,  just  below  the  cabin  door,  was  a  large  blood 
stain,  that  marked  the  place  of  some  brave  fellow's  death 
on  the  memorable  night  of  the  capture  of  the  Caribas. 
Sturdy  efforts  had  been  made  to  efface  this  spot,  but  they 
had  been  unsuccessful.  I  found  all  my  toilet  articles  just 
as  I  had  left  them;  my  brushes,  combs  and  razors,  and 
even  a  small  bottle  of  brandy  that  had  rested  over  my 
shaving  stand,  were  undisturbed. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  strict  integrity  and 
truthfulness  of  the  Sargassons.  Pilfering  they  held  to 
be  a  crime  so  contemptible  that  only  the  basest  savages 
indulged  in  it.  Lying  and  stealing  they  classified  to 
gether.  Murder  was  not  appalling  to  them,  but  during 


THE  LA ST  OF  AN  ENEMY.  151 

my  stay  in  Sargasso  I  never  knew  or  heard  of  a  single 
case  of  treacherous  assassination.  Nobody  was  ever 
stabbed  in  the  back  or  pushed  into  a  shark's  tank  un 
expectedly. 

Fidette  soon  made  herself  very  comfortable  in  the 
little  cabin  that  adjoined  mine,  and  showed  signs  of 
being  reconciled  to  her  separation  from  the  Happy  Shark. 


152  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE   DANGER  OF  AN   IDEA. 

I  had  not  been  in  command  of  the  Caribas  more 
than  a  month  before  I  discovered  that  Donna  Elenora, 
the  wife  of  the  Kantoon  of  the  near-by  ship  Cormorant, 
and  Fidette  had  their  heads  together  and  were  engaged 
in  the  promulgation  of  a  great  socal  reform.  They  were 
also  in  communication  with  other  ships  in  our  immediate 
neighborhood. 

They  had  undertaken  the  laudable  task  of  "amelior 
ating  the  condition  of  woman" — among  the  Sargassons. 

I  was  prepared  to  admit  that  the  status  of  woman 
among  the  Sargassons  was  not  what  it  ought  to  be. 
She  had  considerable  liberty,  although  she  was  not  pam 
pered  with  Parisian  dresses  and  hats.  She  had  no  really 
laborious  duties  to  perform,  and,  had  she  been  inclined, 
might  have  devoted  considerable  time  to  the  develop 
ment  of  her  mind  and  the  beautifying  of  her  person.  I 
never  had  observed  that  she  took  advantage  of  her  op 
portunities.  Instead,  therefore,  of  frowning  upon  the 
movement,  I  determined  to  encourage  it  by  every  means 
in  my  power. 

No  better  field  on  the  face  of  the  sea  or  land  could 
be  found  in  which  to  give  the  woman  question  a  supreme 
test. 

I  was  a  believer  in  woman's  rights.  I  remembered 
the  injustices  under  which  my  poor  mother  had  suffered 


THE  DANGER  OF  AN  IDEA.  153 

in  South  Brooklyn,  and  I  was  determined  that  if  Fidette 
were  bereft  of  any  privileges  she  ought  to  have,  I  would 
see  that  they  were  conceded  to  her.  All  I  wanted  to 
know  was  whether  the  women  of  Sargasso  could  agree 
upon  any  policy  that  was  reasonably  sure  to  better  their 
condition. 

At  the  outset  what  threatened  to  be  an  insuperable 
barrier  arose.  The  Sargassons  have  not  a  written  lan 
guage.  Had  they  possessed  a  common  tongue,  it  is 
doubtful  if  many  of  the  women  addressed  could  have  de 
ciphered  the  petitions.  The  brief  verses  or  inscriptions 
written  upon  the  tarpon  scales,  and  that  passed  current 
for  their  literature,  were  chiefly  extracts  from  the  Spanish 
or  Portuguese  poets,  badly  memorized. 

When  the  Sargasson  women  had  once  tasted  the 
sweets  of  liberty,  there  was  little  doubt  that  they  would 
improve  intellectually,  morally  and  physically.  I  re 
membered  to  have  heard  and  read  during  my  last  shore 
life,  heated  arguments  upon  this  very  thing.  I  recalled 
the  fact  that  a  stubborn  effort  had  been  made  to  eliminate 
the  word  "male"  from  the  constitution  of  my  native 
State.  I  knew  from  my  mother  that,  when  she  first  en 
tered  the  married  state,  she  had  no  position  recognized 
before  the  law.  She  had  no  legal  right  to  her  earnings; 
no  legal  right  to  direct  and  care  for  her  children,  and  in 
politics  she  was  absolutely  denied  any  consideration  what 
ever.  I  had  often  admitted  in  my  own  heart  that  a 
woman's  life  under  such  circumstances  was  necessarily 
unhappy,  and  I  felt  glad,  owing  to  the  active  agitation  of 
a  few  noble-hearted  women,  that  most  of  the  barriers  re 
stricting  woman's  progress  and  intelligence  had  been 
swept  away.  I  was  just  as  pleased  that  this  was  true  as 
any  woman  could  have  been. 

I  recognized  the  fact  also  that  woman  had  become 
a  great  industrial  factor  in  the  progress  of  the  western 
world.  She  owned  vast  amounts  of  property,  on  which 
she  was  taxed,  and,  therefore,  had  a  right  to  say  what 


154  MISSING. 

special  uses  she  would  prefer  made  of  the  money  so  ex 
acted.  Woman  suffrage  had  been  tried  in  one  of  our 
largest  States,  Wyoming,  with  good  effect,  and  had  there 
been  found  to  improve  home  life  instead  of  destroying  it. 
I  was  a  convert. 

Sending  for  Fidette,  I  had  a  calm  and  very  agreea 
ble  conversation  with  her  upon  the  subject.  She  owned 
up,  frankly,  that  she  and  Donna  Elenora  had  undertaken 
to  preach  a  propaganda  against  the  subjective  condition 
of  woman  in  Sargasso.  They  believed  that  her  superior 
intelligence  and  good  looks  entitled  her  to  more  con 
sideration  than  she  received.  Fidette  denounced  the  the 
ory  that  among  a  people  where  women  were  few  they  re 
ceived  greater  respect  than  in  countries  where  they  were 
many.  She  asserted  what  I  recognized  as  a  startling 
truth,  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  personal  property  at 
present  existing  in  Sargasso  was  in  the  hands  of  her  sex. 

As  diamonds,  pearls  and  other  precious  stones  had 
no  commercial  value  among  the  Sargasson  people,  it 
had  been  the  custom,  whenever  a  derelict  was  added  to 
the  group,  to  divide  the  jewels  and  silverware  among 
the  wives  of  the  Kantoons.  These  in  turn  had  passed 
the  trinkets  down  to  their  daughters,  and  in  that  way 
many  of  the  Sargasson  women  possessed  jewel  boxes 
that  would  have  caused  the  noblest  women  of  Europe  to 
turn  green  with  envy.  Such  a  thing  as  a  theft  of  jewc's 
was  unknown,  because  they  never  could  be  worn  in  pub 
lic  by  the  unlawful  possessor,  and,  of  course,  escape  to 
any  part  of  the  world  where  a  market  could  be  found 
was  guarded  against. 

I  entered  heartily  into  the  movement  for  bettering 
the  condition  of  the  Sargasson  women. 

Fidette  was  delighted.  She  foresaw  the  immortality 
that  awaited  her.  Her  name  would  be  handed  down 
through  generations  as  the  champion  of  her  sex!  In 
her  ecstasy,  she  went  to  her  cabin,  took  down  her  man 
dolin,  and,  in  the  quaint  jargon  of  the  Sargassons,  sang, 
in  words  as  light  as  air: 


THE  DANGER  OF  AN  IDEA.  155 

Wurra.  wurra.  wink-o-chee. 

"Vous   etes  mucho  fond  o'   me?" 
No  can  marry.esta  girl 
Quando   jeune,'  y   dans   le   whirl; 
Mais,    oui?     Mais,    non! 
Pero— Hope  on! 

This  jargon  may  be  very  freely  translated  thus: 

Alack!  alas!  my  own  sea  loon, 
"For  love  of  me  you're  in  the  moon?" 
But  you  cr.n't  marry  this  one  girl 
While  she's  young  and  in  the  whirl, 
You  can?     You  can't! 
But  hope — hope  on! 

While  Fidette  sang*  I  made  merry  with  my  memory. 

When  I  lived  in  Brooklyn  I  had  a  cousin  who  be 
longed  to  a  wealthy  family  and  was  a  member  of  a  very 
famous  woman's  club  called  the  Amazons,  and  from  her 
I  learned  that  after  the  ladies  who  belonged  to  that  or 
ganization  had  possessed  themselves  of  all  the  "rights" 
that  could  not  make  their  escape,  they  began  to  wrangle 
with  each  other  as  to  which  of  them  should  enjoy  the 
acquired  privileges.  The  idea  of  having  them  in  com 
mon  did  not  satisfy.  One  incident  that  I  remember  to 
have  heard  mentioned  impressed  me  greatly.  It  arose 
out  of  the  annual  election  for  the  presidency.  The  tall 
and  stately  dame  who  held  that  honored  post  very  nearly 
failed  of  a  renomination.  There  was  considerable  feeing 
in  the  club  in  opposition  to  her.  but  when  she  realized 
that  a  younger  candidate  was  to  be  named  in  her ^ stead 
she  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears  and  made  a  pathetic  ap 
peal  to  trie  assemblv  for  a  continuance  in  authority. 
The  result  was  that  the  meeting  closed  with  a  semi-hys 
terical  burst  of  tears  on  all  sides. 

The  moral  of  this  bit  of  retrospection  is  that  I  felt 
perfectlv  sure  Fidette  and  Donna  Elenora  would  be  less 
Confidential  toward  ePrVT  other  at  the  end  of^a  month 
than  they  were  at  the  moment  of  arrang-iner  their  frienmy 
eomnacf.  Therefore,  not  approving  of  the  sociability 
tiiat  h'ac!  snrtmp-  nn  between  tHem,  I  believed  that  the 
quickest  way  to  "destroy  it  was  to  encourage  it. 


156 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  NEW  WOMAN  IN  SARGASSO. 

The  captain's  gig,  which  I  had  found  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation  on  one  of  the  lower  decks,  was  put 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  crew,  who  had  some  experience 
as  a  carpenter,  and  was  thoroughly  refitted.  I  had  the 
seats  in  the  stern  of  the  boat  covered  with  sea-grass 
cushions  and  the  trim  gig  given  a  coat  of  the  fish-scale 
shellac,  without  and  within.  There  were  seats  for  six 
oarsmen. 

When  the  gig  was  finished  and  the  oars  fitted  thereto, 
I  selected  a  boat's  crew  with  great  care,  choosing  only 
the  strongest  and  homeliest  young  men  from  the  ship's 
company.  When  all  was  ready  I  had  the  boat  placed  in 
the  water  one  day  when  Donna  Elenor  was  present  on 
the  Carabas,  and  then  informed  the  two  ladies  that  the 
gig  was  at  their  service,  individually  and  collectively, 
whenever  they  chose  to  use  it.  I  knew  enough  of  human 
nature  to  foresee  that,  after  a  few  visits  together,  the  t\vo 
ladies  would  disagree  as  to  the  proper  hour  to  make 
calls,  and  practically  would  never  use  the  boat  in  each 
other's  company.  I  must  admit  that  I  felt  an  emotion  of 
satanic  delight  in  destroying  all  the  traditions  of  the  Sar- 
gassons  at  one  blow,  and  in  thus  boldly  introducing 
what  we  in  the  English  language  denominate  "'Die  So 
ciability  of  the  Human  Race."  Deep  down  in  my  heart  I 
felt  that  the  Sargassons  were  right  in  theory  and  in  prac 
tice. 


THE  NEW  WOMAN  IN  SARGASSO.  157 

Little  as  they  knew  of  the  great  world  that  sur 
rounded  them,  but  of  which  they  formed  a  part,  they  had 
discovered  that,  almost  universally,  friendships  exist  be 
cause  of  mutual  interests,  and  that  the  moment  a  prepon 
derance  of  selfish  benefit  accrues  to  one  individual  in 
excess  of  that  attainable  by  the  other,  all  cordiality  is 
dissipated. 

Friendship  is  a  mirage  of  Fogland!  It  vanishes 
when  the  sunlight  of  self-interest  beats  upon  it. 

In  every  way  I  encouraged  the  propaganda  that 
these  good  ladies  had  set  on  foot.  Day  by  day  I  saw 
them  depart,  filled  with  the  enthusiasm  of  their  sacred 
mission.  Naturally,  the  first  visits  were  paid  nearest 
home,  but  the  field  of  the  propaganda  was  gradually  ex 
tended  until  their  absence  embraced  the  period  between 
the  rising  and  going  down  of  the  sun. 

For  a  few  days  I  was  told  all  that  occurred,  exactly 
what  had  been  said  on  each  vessel,  how  the  tea  tasted 
with  which  they  had  been  regaled,  and  even  the  spiteful  re 
marks  that  the  women  on  the  other  ships  had  made  about 
their  neighbors.  But,  prompted  by  Donna  Elenora,  who 
unconsciously  was  more  of  a  logician  than  Fidette,  the 
leader  of  the  Great  Cause  soon  ceased  to  tell  me  any 
thing.  In  this  she  was  entirely  within  her  own  rights, 
and  I  found  no  fault. 

The  Kantoon  of  the  Cormorant,  however,  was  not 
so  complacent,  and  on  the  first  refusal  of  his  wife  to  tell 
him  where  she  had  been  he  reasserted  the  majesty  of 
man  by  locking  her  up  in  the  sick  bay  and  putting  her 
on  a  diet  of  dry  seaweed  and  rainwater.  He  peremp 
torily  refused  to  allow  Donna  Elenora  to  again  accom 
pany  Fidette,  and  the  splendid  future  of  the  good  work 
seemed  to  be  imperiled.  It  was  in  vain  that  Fidette  ap 
pealed  to  me  to  have  her  companion  released.  I  told 
her,  candidly,  that  under  the  new  order  of  things  my  in 
fluence  did  not  extend  to  a  contro1  of  the  women  in  the 
community;  that,  however  much  liberty  I  might  allow 


158  MISSING. 

the  gentle  sex,  I  could  not  abolish  the  marriage  relation 
or  create  any  ex-post  facto  regulation  that  would  abro 
gate  the  control  that  the  husband  was  admitted  to  have 
over  the  conduct  of  the  wife  at  the  time  the  contract  was 
made. 

This  didn't  satisfy  Fidette.  Her  estimate  of  man 
was  no  better  than  before.  I  was  really  charmed  with 
the  manner  in  which  she  stamped  her  little  foot  on  the 
deck  and  said: 

"Just  wait  till  we  control  Sargasso  and  its  myriad 
ships.  We'll  crucify  such  a  man  as  Elenora's  husband! ' 

This  was  perfectly  delightful  to  me. 

I  learned  from  time  to  time  that  the  social  conditions 
on  the  ships  that  had  been  visited  by  the  two  priestesses 
of  emancipation  were  quite  the  same  as  on  board  the  Cor 
morant.  The  custom  of  giving  teas  to  the  visiting  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  Kantoons  had  already  practically 
destroyed  one  of  the  most  sacred  ordinances  of  the  Sar- 
gassons  forbidding  the  presence  of  fire  on  any  ship.  This 
offense,  for  which  any  man  in  the  crew  would  have  been 
instantly  punished  with  death,  was  now  committed  by  the 
ladies  of  Sargasso  with  impunity. 

Another  circumstances  that  I  noticed  in  the  line  of 
independence  was  that  they  began  bartering  their  jewels 
among  each  other,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  personal 
property  that  had  been  the  pride  of  the  Sargasson  people 
bid  fair  to  drift  into  the  hands  of  a  few  women  who  were 
shrewder  and  more  skilled  in  the  arts  of  barter  than  the 
others.  I  foresaw  that  this  would  lead  to  no  end  of 
trouble.  Fidette  was  the  superior  of  any  woman  in  strik 
ing  a  bargain,  and  she  did  not,  therefore,  suffer  especial 
ly  at  the  hands  of  the  shrewdest  of  her  sex. 

The  catastrophe  that  I  had  feared  came  in  a  most 
startling  and  unexpected  way. 

Five  months  had  been  devoted  to  "ameliorating  the 
condition  of  the  Sargasson  women."  Her  cares  had  been 
lightened  to  such  an  extent  that  she  knew;  nothing  about 


THE  NEW  WOMAN  IN  SARGASSO.  159 

her  own  household  as  a  rule,  but  was  thoroughly  ac 
quainted  with  every  detail  regarding  the  affairs  of  her 
neighbors.  She  had  begun  to  observe  and  comment  upon 
the  dress  and  the  personal  adornment  of  her  best  friends. 
She  had  taken  to  staining  her  cheeks  with  the  juice  of  the 
ogalla  berry — not  to  render  her  more  beautiful  and  at 
tractive  to  her  husband,  but  to  rouse  the  envy  of  her  own 
sex. 

Covetousness,  a  vice  that  had  been  unknown  among 
these  people  previously,  made  its  appearance,  and  some 
of  the  women  devoted  all  their  time  to  plotting  how  they 
might  secure  the  most  highly  prized  heirlooms  that  their 
friends  possessed.  Already  several  very  scandalous 
charges  have  been  made  to  the  Chief  Kantoon,  involving 
undue  influence  and  insinuating  theft. 

But  the  climax  was  reached  one  dark  night,  when 
the  Sacred  Light  was  flashed  high  into  a  sky  of  inky 
blackness.  No  intimation  whatever  as  to  the  cause  of 
its  sudden  appearance  had  been  received  over  the  sea- 
root  telegraph,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  on  every  ship, 
as  on  the  Caribas,  the  deepest  suspense  was  felt  \vhile 
the  awful  import  of  the  glowing  message  in  the  sky  was 
being  slowly  deciphered.  With  a  movement,  regular  as 
the  swinging  of  a  pendulum,  the  searchlight  was  thrown 
east  or  west,  north  or  south,  southeast  or  northwest,  until 
enough  of  the  message  had  been  imparted  to  enable 
every  Sargasson  to  guess  the  rest. 

I  was  not  familiar  enough  in  reading  the  signals  of 
the  Sacred  Light  to  grasp  the  startling  intelligence  it  con 
veyed.  Fidette  and  my  first  officer,  who  stood  near  me, 
threw  themselves  upon  their  faces  on  the  deck,  exhibit 
ing  signs  of  abject  terror.  Tn  vain  I  shook  the  first  mate; 
then  I  strove  to  raise  my  wife  to  her  feet. 

Taking  Fidette  in  my  arms,  I  was  about  to  carry 
her  to  her  cabin,  when  I  detected  members  of  the  crew 
dropping  overboard  from  various  parts  of  the  ship.  One 
sailor  rushed  past  me,  and  threw  himself  headlong  into 


160  MISSING. 

the  sea.  These  acts  of  my  men  filled  me  with  consterna 
tion.  Before  my  eyes  members  of  my  crew  were  drown 
ing  themselves  because  of  the  information  that  the  Sacred 
Light  had  flashed  to  them ! 

Carrying  Fidette  to  her  cabin,  I  placed  her  on  the 
sofa,  applied  to  her  nostrils  a  bottle  of  strong  salts  that 
had  been  in  my  locker,  and  she  soon  revived.  I  could 
hear  the  men  rushing  about  the  deck  in  the  utmost  con 
fusion.  I  was  still  completely  mystified.  My  only  hope 
was  an  explanation  from  Fidette.  The  light  in  the  cabin 
was  furnished  by  a  large  piece  of  rotten  wood,  suspended 
from  the  ceiling  by  a  cord.  It  was  the  fox-fire  familiar 
to  all  woodsmen.  By  the  aid  of  this  light  I  saw  Fi- 
dette's  eyes  slowly  open,  but  in  them  was  a  look  of  fear 
and  mental  distress,  such  as  I  never  saw  exhibited  by 
a  human  being.  I  spoke  to  her  again  and  again.  I 
entreated  for  an  explanation.  Suddenly  she  roused  her 
self  and  sat  bolt  upright.  She  appeared  oblivious  of  my 
presence.  She  allowed  me  to  take  her  hand,  but  appeared 
unconscious  of  passionate  and  sympathetic  words.  Fi- 
naly  her  lips  moved,  and  she  fairly  screamed  in  a  tone 
of  agony  and  remorse: 

"We  are  lost!" 

"Lost!"  I  exclaimed;  "what  has  happened,  my  dar 
ling?  What  calamity  can  overcome  us?  I  am  here  to 
protect  you.  I  can  defend  you  against  the  entire  power 
of  the  Sargasson  people — at  least,  I  can  do  so  as  long 
as  there  is  life  in  me.  Speak,  sweet  one.  Do  speak!" 

"Oh,  we  are  lost!"  and  the  poor,  little  creature  burst 
into  a  hysterical  fit  of  weeping.  To  no  effect  did  I  fold 
her  in  my  arms  and  hold  her  cheek  close  to  mine,  and, 
somewhat  rudely,  perhaps,  brushed  the  long,  floating 
hair  from  her  cold  brow,  She  would  explain  no  further. 


EVEN  IN  SARGASSO  DOTH  ENVY  FIND  A  PLACE.    161 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

EVEN  IN  SARGASSO  DOTH  ENVY  FIND  A  PLACE. 

Leaving  Fidette,  I  hurried  upon  deck,  clutching  the 
first  mate,  who,  in  a  disordered  condition  of  mind,  was 
hurrying  past  me,  and  demanded  to  know  from  him  the 
cause  of  the  universal  consternation.  I  detained  him 
with  difficulty,  and  it  was  several  seconds  before  he  was 
able  to  stammer  out: 

"The  Sacred  Flint  has  been  stolen!" 

"The  sacred  what?" 

'"The  Sacred  Flint,  in  the  custody  of  the  priest." 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Surely,  that's  enough,"  he  gasped. 

"What  will  come  of  it?"  I  asked,  considerably  re 
lieved  in  mind. 

"The  Sacred  Fire  may  burn  out" 

"I  can  understand  that,"  was  my  answer,  now  feel 
ing  quite  complacent. 

"Our  god  will  be  in  wrath.  Not  one  of  us  will 
ever  reach  the  Sweet  Water  Heaven." 

"Too  bad;  anything  else?"  I  inquired,  now  rather 
annoyed  at  all  this  ado  about  nothing. 

"Yes;  the  thief,  the  one  who  has  stolen  this  holy 
emblem — this  sacred  stone  in  which  fire  that  water  can 
not  quench  is  hidden — will  be  punished  with  a  death  so 
awful  that  the  coldest  Sargasson  blood  runs  boiling  hot 


162  MISSING. 

at  its  contemplation.  When  found,  he  will  be  seized, 
taken  to  the  ship  of  the  Chief  Kantoon,  where  his  hands 
will  be  burned  off,  is  eyes  will  be  plucked  out,  and  he 
will  then  be  fastened  to  a  spit  and  slowly  roasted  over 
the  Sacred  Fire  that  he  has  attempted  to  destroy.  If, 
by  a  fatal  mischance,  the  fire  should  be  extinguished,  lie 
will  then  be  cut  into  pieces  while  still  alive  and  fed  to  the 
sacred  sharks  of  the  Inland  Sea." 

Having  said  this,  the  first  mate  saluted,  and,  with  my 
permission,  hurried  away  to  rescue,  if  possible,  by  force, 
such  members  of  the  crew  as  had  attempted  suicide,  but 
were  unable  to  sink. 

I  returned  to  Fidette's  side.  She  had  ceased  weep 
ing.  She  was  now  more  calm,  but  her  face  was  ghastly 
pale.  She  now  remembered  me,  and  in  the  tenderest 
manner  possible  reached  out  her  hands,  taking  mine  that 
were  extended  toward  her,  and  with  quivering  voice  be 
gan: 

"My  dear  husband,  I  am  the  cause  of  this  dire  cal 
amity.  I  know  how  terrible  must  be  my  punishment; 
yet  that  is  not  what  I  fear,  but  the  distress  I  have  brought 
on  others." 

Then  the  suffering  little  woman  had  a  nervous  chill. 

"Confide  in  me,  Fidette,"  I  began,  sitting  down  close 
by  her  side  to  reassure  her.  "Tell  me  all." 

"It  happened  in  this  way,"  Fidette  began.  "You 
know  I  gave  a  tea  on  board  the  Caribas  two  weeks  ago, 
Saturday  afternoon.  Donna  Elenora  was  here  and  as 
sisted  me,  you  will  remember.  Our  tea  was  hot,  con 
trary  to  the  Sargasson  custom.  There  never  had  been 
any  fire  on  board  the  Cormorant,  although  on  some  of 
the  other  ships  fires  had  been  started  surreptitiously  by 
some  of  the  wives  of  the  Kantoons!  The  commander  of 
the  Cormorant  had  never  permitted  anything  of  the  kind 
on  board  his  ship. 

"When,  therefore,  Donna  Elenora,  desiring  to  give  a 
tea  to-morrow,  asked  me  for  the  loan  of  your  flint,  steel 


EVEN  IN  SARGASSO  DOTH  ENVY  FIND  A  PLACE.    163 

and  punk,  in  a  thoughtless  moment  I  declined  to  accede 
to  her  request.  I  suggested  that  she  borrow  the  flint 
from  the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire.  She  said  nothing  more, 
but,  going  back  to  the  gig  that  she  was  using,  she  at 
once  set  out  for  the  Inland  Sea.  I  understand  what 
followed.  She  has  gone  to  the  ship  of  the  Chief  Kantoon 
and  has  wheedled  his  daughter  into  lending  the  Sacred 
Flint!  My  careless  words  inspired  her.  Envy  counseled 
her  to  commit  this  awful  crime.  She  wanted  to  be  like  me. 
She  wanted  to  make  a  show.  She  has  sacrificed  her  life, 
that  of  her  husband,  and  probably  mine,  to  her  vainglory 
— not  that  I  fear  Death  in  his  usual  form,  but,  ugh!  how  I 
shall  hate  to  be  roasted  alive!" 

"You  shall  not  be  punished,  Fidette,"  I  said,  strok 
ing  her  pretty  shoulders  and  speaking  in  my  most  affec 
tionate  tone.  "I  don't  care  what  the  law  is;  I  don't  care 
a  fig  for  the  Sacred  Flint.  In  the  hold  as  ballast  are 
tons  of  flints.  I  will  send  the  priest  a  boatload  to-mor 
row.  I  shall  appease  his  wrath.  Comfort  yourself,  and 
rest.  You  have  distressed  yourself  too  much.  As  for 
Donna  Elenora,  let  them  roast  her.  Why  should  you 
worry?  She  knew  what  she  was  about." 

"My  agony  of  mind  is  not  wholly  due  to  Elenora's 
fate,"  admitted  Fidette,  hesitatingly.  "You  ask  me  to 
lean  upon  you.  You  reassure  me.  You  offer  to  extri 
cate  me  from  my  terrible  situation  and  incidentally  to 
protect  my  life.  I  ought  to  refuse  all  your  proffers. 
Now  that  I  am  engaged  in  the  rescue  of  women  from  the 
a  holy  principle.  This  is  a  woman's  crime,  and  by  a 
woman  must  it  be  atoned." 

Fidette  and  I  had  lived  happily  together  for  almost 
ten  months.  I  never  had  been  angry  at  her  before.  I 
never  had  felt  in  all  my  life  the  impulse  to  strike  or  choke 
dreadful  domination  of  man,  it  is  quite  improper  that  I 
should  allow  you  to  assert  your  authority  over  others, 
even  in  my  behalf.  No;  I  must  die.  I  must  suffer  for 
a  woman,  but  at  this  moment  out  of  the  depths  of  my 


164  MISSING. 

soul  arose  a  demoniacal  impulse  to  snatch  Fidette  from 
the  couch  on  which  she  lay,  hurl  her  to  the  floor  and 
jump  on  her.  Her  talk  was  such  utter  nonsense,  so  re 
pugnant  to  the  better  part  of  a  man's  nature,  such  an  ex 
hibition  of  heartless  ingratitude,  that  no  mere  man  could 
endure  it.  Of  course,  I  mastered  the  influence.  I  did 
nothing.  I  simply  walked  out  upon  deck  and  beat  my 
head  against  the  mainmast. 

Meanwhile  the  commotion  on  the  ship  had  increased 
rather  than  diminished.  All  discipline  had  been  cast  to 
the  winds.  In  the  darkest  shadows  of  the  deck  I  could  see 
the  men  standing  together  in  groups  conversing  in  their 
horrible  polyglotic  language.  I  felt  that  some  action 
ought  to  be  taken  looking  to  the  assertion  of  my  au 
thority. 

In  the  loudest  voice  I  could  command  I  called  away 
every  boat  that  the  ship  possessed.  Then,  taking  five 
men  with  me,  I  descended  into  the  hold,  knowing  the  way 
perfectly  in  the  murky  darkness,  and  there  commanded 
each  member  of  my  crew  to  carry  as  much  of  the  stone 
ballast  to  the  deck  as  he  could  lift.  The  flint  had  been 
broken  into  all  sizes,  but  I  had  trouble  to  prevent  the 
men  from  undertaking  to  carry  too  much.  One  would 
have  supposed  that  they  would  have  selected  the  smaller 
pieces,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  selected  the  largest  they 
could  find. 

When  we1  reached  the  deck,  f  called  the  ship's  com 
pany  around  me,  told  them  I  had  learned  of  the  terrible 
disaster  that  had  overtaken  the  Priest  of  the  Holy  Fire, 
and  concluded  by  stating  that  each  of  the  pieces  of  stone 
then  heaped  upon  the  deck  contained  enough  hidden  fire 
to  keep  the  flames  of  the  Sargasson  priesthood  aglow  all 
eternity.  They  received  my  statement  with  incredulity  at 
first,  but  when  I  seized  a  hammer  and  struck  from  a  score 
or  more  of  the  jagged  stones  the  glinting  sparks  that 
evidenced  the  presence  of  hidden  fire  the  men  burst  into 
a  shout  of  joy.  They  manned  the  twenty  boats,  in  the 


EVEN  iy  SARGASSO  DOTH  ENVY  FIND  A  PLACE.    165 

centre  of  each  was  placed  at  least  a  bushel  of  the  precious 
flints,  and,  without  waiting  for  further  orders,  they  set  off 
in  the  darkness  up  the  Grand  Canal  toward  the  Inland 
Sea  to  deliver  their  priceless  cargo  to  the  Priest  of  the 
Sacred  Fire. 

I  then  commanded  the  executive  officer  to  put  in 
operation  the  sea-root  telegraph,  in  order  that  the  sus 
pense  under  which  the  Chief  Kantoon  and  his  priesthood 
were  suffering  might  be  at  once  relieved.  I  know  that 
fully  two  hours  would  be  required  to  transmit  the  mes 
sage  from  ship  to  ship,  and  had  some  anxiety  regarding 
its  form  and  character  when  it  should  have  reached  its 
destination  after  passing  through  so  many  hands,  but  at 
the  end  of  two  hours  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
Sacred  Fire  again  flashing  in  the  skies,  and,  aided  by 
the  first  mate  as  interpreter,  I  learned  that  the  Chief  Kan- 
toon  reassured  his  people  that  the  Sacred  Fire  would 
never  go  out. 

Having  roused  Fidette  from  her  troubled  sleep  I 
joyfully  told  her  that  danger  and  misfortune  were  pp.st. 
In  a  few  brief  sentences  I  explained  to  her  the  sending 
of  the  twenty  boats  loaded  with  flints. 

Never  did  mortal  give  such  a  deep  sigh  of  relief 
as  did  Fidette,  and,  throwing  her  arms  about  my  neck, 
she  said: 

"How  much  easier  and  better  it  is  to  have  somebody 
to  do  my  thinking-  for  me.  I  have  been  a  silly  woman." 


166  MISSING 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

PLOTTING  TREASON. 

My  escape  from  Sargasso  was  due  largely  to  Fidette. 
Through  her  I  secured  the  command  of  my  vessel,  the 
Caribas. 

Do  you  wonder  that  I  loved  her? 

The  fidelity  of  Fidette  to  me  extended  to  acts  of  trea 
son  to  her  native  community.  Although  the  great  world 
was  to  her  only  a  tradition  she  had  developed  a  deep 
longing  to  live,  as  her  mother  had  done,  upon  land,  and 
to  escape  forever  from  the  uneasy,  unquiet  sea. 

One  of  my  first  acts  on  assuming  control  of  the  Cari 
bas  was  to  remove  the  men's  quarters  from  the  centre  of 
the  ship.  The  first  mate  was  provided  with  apartments 
directly  underneath  my  own,  and  he  was  glad  of  the 
change.  My  purpose  in  making  these  transfers  was  to 
render  it  possible  for  me  to  thoroughly  overhaul  the  en 
gines  of  the  Caribas  in  the  hope  that  they  could  be  re 
stored  to  effectiveness.  The  various  small  and  vital  parts 
of  the  engine  that  had  been  taken  away  had  been  dis 
tributed  among  the  other  ships  nearby,  where  they  were 
regarded  as  souvenirs.  These,  by  her  admirable  art  of 
making  and  cultivating  friendships  on  the  other  vessels, 
Fidette  was  able  to  secure,  and  one  by  one  return  to  the 
ship.  This  labor  of  appreciation  and  love  occupied  much 
time. 


PLOTTING  TREASON.  167 

Thank's  to  my  knowledge  of  marine  engineering  I 
was  able  to  readjust  the  various  parts,  and  when  they 
were  all  in  place  I  gave  the  engine  the  finishing  touches 
one  night  during  a  violent  storm  of  thunder  and  light 
ning,  when  the  necessary  hammering  could  not  be  heard 
by  the  crew.  I  next  secured  great  quantities  of  seaweed, 
to  be  used  under  the  boilers,  especially  the  \vaxy  and 
oleaginous  kinds  that  come  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ama 
zon.  When  thoroughly  dried  I  was  confident  these  plants 
would  burn  admirably.  Wood  was  also  procured  from 
the  floating  logs. 

On  one  of  the  large  mahogany  trees,  covered  with 
parasitic  plants  and  vines,  we  encountered  a  huge  anacon 
da.  It  had  evidently  been  brought  down  the  Amazon  in 
one  of  the  Spring  freshets,  and  had  sustained  itself,  proba 
bly  for  many  months,  upon  the  birds,  nautili,  crayfish 
and  anaimalculae  that  gathered  upon  the  branches  of  the 
floating  trunk. 

My  audacious  plan  was  to  take  the  Caribas  to  sea 
and  to  trust  to  encountering  a  tow.  She  was  the  latest 
and  most  valuable  possession  of  the  Sargassons.  She 
was  valued  for  her  enduring  qualities  far  above  any  other 
ship  they  possessed. 

I  finally  reached  a  stage  in  which  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  take  somebody,  at  least  partially,  into  my 
confidence.  I  had  carefully  studied  the  members  of  the 
crew,  and  had  fixed  upon  a  man  for  my  purpose.  He 
was  the  boatswain,  and  I  knew  by  my  own  experience  as 
a  deep-water  sailor  that  that  subordinate  officer  is  rarely 
popular  with  the  crew.  I  therefore  hoped  that,  by  at 
taching  him  to  my  interests  and  encouraging  him  to  hope 
for  advancement,  I  could  make  sure  of  his  secrecy.  I 
sent  for  him  one  night  and  broached  the  subject. 

We  stood  alone  on  the  quarter  deck  to  make  sure 
that  nobody  was  within  hearing  distance.  I  led  him  to 
believe  that  what  I  contemplated  was  securing  a  better 
berth  for  the  Caribas.  Without  being  guilty  of  abso- 


168  MISSING. 

lute  falsehood,  I  caused  him  to  think  that  I  had  permis 
sion  to  move  the  vessel  out  of  the  narrow  strait  in  which 
we  were  berthed  to  the  large  lagoon  just  out  of  the 
Grand  Canal  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  Inland  Sea. 

This  was  the  highly  aristocratic  part  of  Sargasso,  and 
the  boatswain  was  delighted. 

After  the  watch  had  been  set  and  the  ship's  com 
pany  had  gone  to  sleep  I  visited  the  engine  room,  the 
key  of  which  I  carefully  guarded,  and  found  the  machinery 
in  excellent  condition.  I  saw  the  necessity  of  being  pro 
vided  with  plenty  of  oil  for  the  engine,  and  directed  that 
fifty  porpoises  should  be  harpooned  and  their  fat  tried 
out.  This  oil  I  stored  in  some  empty  water  casks. 

How  could  I  prevent  the  smoke  from  being  ob 
served?  Fires  would  have  to  be  lighted  under  the  boil 
ers  fully  a  day  to  generate  sufficient  steam  to  move  the 
engines.  The  moment  a  huge  volume  of  smoke  was 
seen  to  issue  from  the  funnels  of  the  Caribas  a  general 
signal  would  be  flashed  from  the  ship  of  the  Chief  Kan- 
toon,  and  before  we  could  hope  to  get  under  way  we 
would  be  beset  on  all  sides  by  at  least  one  thousand 
canoes,  each  manned  by  two  blood-thirsty  Sargasson 
devils,  who,  despite  our  efforts  at  defense  (and  I  could 
not  count  upon  my  crew),  would  swarm  aboard  the  ship 
and  literally  carve  us  to  pieces. 

The  Sargassons  acted  strictly  upon  the  motto,  "Dead 
men  tell  no  tales."  They  did  not  intend  that  anybody 
should  ever  escape  from  Sargasso,  and  I  have  always  be 
lieved  that  the  sad  end  of  Arthur  Gray  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  Chief  Kantoon  had,  under  Gray's  artful  per 
suasions,  allowed  him  the  privilege,  never  accorded  to 
any  other  Sargasson,  of  revisiting  his  native  land.  Popu 
lar  as  he  was  said  to  have  been  prior  to  that  time,  it  was 
notorious  that  he  was  regarded  with  suspicion  after  his 
return.  Of  course,  I  knew  of  no  reason  for  such  distrust. 
Gray  had  added  one  of  the  finest  vessels  to  the  commu 
nity,  and  that  ought  to  have  evoked  gratitude. 


PLOTTING  TREASON,  169 

But  gratitude  is  as  rare  in  Sargasso  as  in  the  more 
highly  civilized  parts  of  the  world. 

The  problem  of  preventing  the  sjnoke  fro  n  beco:..in^ 
visible  was  solved  by  Fidette.  Since  her  active  labors  for 
the  regeneration  of  woman  among  the  Sargassons  it  had 
become  a  very  common  custom  for  the  daughters  and 
wives  of  the  Kantoons  to  do  cooking  surreptitiously  on 
board  their  ships.  Many  of  them  could  now  broil  a 
bloater  or  make  a  crayfish  chowder  equal  to  the  best 
Fulton  Market  cook.  In  order  to  do  this  they  had  had  to 
devise  means  by  which  the  presence  of  fire  and  smoke  was 
disguised.  They  had  found  that  crushed  barnacles,  mixed 
with  bits  of  salt-encrusted  wood  sprinkled  upon  the  fire, 
destroyed  the  carbon  in  the  smoke  and  caused  it  to  as 
sume  a  yellowish  hue.  It  then  readily  assimilated  with 
the  dense  atmosphere  of  the  mid-Atlantic,  and  was  not 
observable  during  the  night  by  the  men  on  watch  on  the 
other  ships.  During  daylight  I  feared  that  the  keen- 
eyed  Sargassons  would  detect  the  presence  of  heat  by  the 
currents  in  the  atmosphere;  but  some  risks  had  to  be 
taken. 

Under  the  pretext  of  providing  better  comforts  for 
the  men  and  giving  them  more  privacy,  I  had  the  fore 
part  of  the  deck  cut  up  into  cabins,  with  accommodations 
for  eight  sailors  in  each.  My  purpose  was  to  separate 
the  men  into  groups  so  that  I  could  handle  them.  I 
dared  not  trust  the  entire  ship's  company  at  liberty.  I 
had  calculated  that  eight  stokers  would  be  sufficient  to 
keep  the  fires  going.  In  one  ofi  the  lockers  that  had  re 
mained  untouched  I  had  a  gross  of  padlocks,  and  these 
I  intended  to  utilize  upon  the  doors  of  the  rooms.  The 
plan  was  to  march  the  eight  men  to  the  boiler  room 
under  the  charge  of  the  boatswain  and  myself.  We 
would  then  lock  them  in,  with  the  understanding  that 
they  were  to  have  eight  hours  of  continuous  work,  after 
which  they  would  be  relieved 

The  boatswain  was  to  stand  guard  over  them  at  the 


170  MISSING. 

head  of  the  iron  ladder,  where  he  readily  could  defend 
himself,  because  of  the  inaccessibilty  of  the  position.  I 
carefully  instructed  Fidette  about  the  machinery,  as  I 
expected  to  have  to  rely  upon  her  to  answer  the  calls  of 
the  bell  in  the  engine  room. 

I  hoped  to  get  the  vessel  well  under  way  and  then 
to  remain  in  the  wheelhouse  myself  long  enough  to  effect 
our  escape.  Once  out  upon  the  broad  Atlantic,  it  did  not 
matter  very  much  whether  the  engine  broke  down  or 
the  fuel  gave  out.  If  we  could  gain  one  hundred  miles 
of  offing  we  would  be  in  the  track  of  vessels  bound  for 
the  Canary  Islands,  and  might  hope  to  be  picked  up  be 
fore  long. 

The  greatest  problem  was  the  feeding  of  the  crew 
during  the  semi-imprisonment.  This  serious  question 
was  solved  by  my  recollecting  that  fifty  barrels  of  salt 
pork  and  one  hundred  barrels  of  hard  crackers,  hermetic 
ally  sealed,  had  been  stowed  in  the  hold ;  and  an  examina 
tion  showed  that  these  provisions  had  escaped  discovery 
during  the  possession  of  the  ship  by  the  Sargassons. 
This  greatly  encouraged  me.  Apparently,  Providence 
had  special  interest  in  my  behalf. 

Another  detail  that  I  had  planned  was  to  send  ;he 
first  mate  on  a  fictitious  mission  to  the  Gassoon,  a  neigh 
boring  derelict.  Several  of  the  most  untrustworthy  mem 
bers  of  the  crew  could  also  be  dispatched  on  the  weekly 
voyage  for  provisions,  just  prior  to  my  departure. 

I  knew  very  well,  as  I  have  already  stated,  that  the 
agitation  for  universal  rights  among  the  ships  had  ut 
terly  destroyed  the  rigidness  of  the  discipline  that  had 
formerly  existed,  and  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  allay  the 
curiosity  of  my  crew  when  they  discovered  that  fires  were 
burning  under  the  boilers  by  telling  them  that  I  was 
about  to  prepare  a  great  feast  for  their  entertainment. 

Every  day's  delay  added  to  my  danger. 

At  roll  call  one  morning  a  member  of  our  ship's 
company  was  missing.  A  search  of  the  most  rigid  char- 


PLOTTING  TREASON.  171 

actef,  in  which  I  joined,  because  of  my  anxiety,  failed  to 
find  him  anywhere  on  board.  I  had  the  boats  counted, 
and  none  was  missing.  If  he  were  a  fugitive  the  man 
had  escaped  over  the  floating  sod — a  very  difficult  act  in 
the  darkness.  The  chances  of  his  reaching  any  other 
vessel  by  that  means  were  infmitesimally  small.  Not  to 
mention  the  dangers  encountered  from  the  poisonous 
snakes  and  scorpions  that  infested  the  vines  and  parasite 
growths  upon  the  tree  tops,  the  fugitive  could  not  avoid 
thin  places  in  the  sod  that  would  appear  safe  to  the  eye, 
but  would  yield  at  once  to  the  slightest  pressure  of  the 
foot. 

The  mystery  of  this  sailor's  absence  was  nevef  ex 
plained,  but  from  the  hour  of  his  disappearance  until  I 
was  safely  out  of  the  Seaweed1  Sea  I  did  not  pass  a 
moment  without  anxiety. 


172  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  CARIBAS  UNDER  STEAM. 

To  the  final  council  with  the  boatswain  Fidette  was 
admitted.  That  afternoon  I  had  turned  the  engine  over 
by  hand,  and  knew  that  every  piece  of  its  mechanism 
was  in  place.  I  realized  the  danger  of  further  delay,  and 
decided  that  the  break  for  liberty  should  be  made  on  the 
following  night. 

In  the  mean  time  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  posses 
sion  of  all  the  arms  carried  by  the  ship's  company,  al 
though  a  demand  to  that  effect  would  certainly  arouse 
suspicion.  All  the  cutlasses  that  had  been  placed  about 
the  ship  for  emergencies  were  quietly  gathered  up  and 
put  under  lock  in  the  main  cabin.  We  had  no  firearms. 
The  only  other  weapons  to  be  feared  were  the  large 
knives  carried  by  the  members  of  the  crew,  which,  un 
fortunately,  they  knew  only  too  well  how  to  use.  We 
deliberated  for  an  hour  or  more  as  to  the  means  of  obtain 
ing  these,  when  Fidette  offered  a  suggestion  that  made  it 
very  easy. 

"Among  the  crew,"  she  began,  "is  a  little  old  man 
who  was  once  a  scissors  grinder.  He  often  sings  to  him 
self  about  the  days  when  he  tramped  the  streets  and  roads 
of  his  native  land,  bell  in  hand,  in  search  of  knives  and 
scissors  to  grind.  There  are  several  grindstones  in  the 
hold.  Now,  I  propose  to  rig  up  one  of  these  for  him 


THE  CARIBAS  UNDER  STEAM,  173 

on  the  main  deck,  and  send  word  to  all  members  of  the 
crew  that  they  can  have  their  knives  ground.  Each  sailor 
can  be  told  to  put  a  mark  upon  his  knife  so  that  it  can  be 
returned  to  him.  In  this  way  we  shall  get  all  these  wea 
pons  into  our  possession. 

The  idea  was  so  feasible  that  I  adopted  it  at  once. 

I  confess  that  I  was  very  anxious  about  our  voyage 
on  the  Grand  Canal,  en  route  to  the  open  sea.  The 
Caribas  would  have  to  pass  in  plain  sight  of  several  hun 
dred  Sargasson  derelicts.  You  may  say  that  I  knew  that 
the  vessels  were  without  armament,  that  solid  shot 
would  not  be  fired  across  our  bow,  and  that  we 
ought  to  have  known  that  we  could  keep  off  boarders 
wrhen  well  under  headway?  And  yet  I  was  tempted  to 
give  up  the  venture,  and  to  end  my  days  among  the  Sar- 
gassons. 

Deep  down  in  my  heart  I  felt  shame  and  mortifica 
tion  at  the  thought  of  what  my  brother  Kantoons  in  Sar 
gasso  would  think  and  say  of  me.  Among  them  the 
taking  away  of  my  own  ship  would  undoubtedly  be  re 
garded  as  theft!  My  treachery  would  be  looked  upon 
as  of  the  most  infamous  kind.  My  name  would  be  posted 
on  the  blacklist  in  the  cabin  of  the  Chief  Kantoon,  and 
forever  held  up  to  universal  execration. 

With  my  infamy,  poor  Fidette's  name  would  be 
linked.  She  was  a  Sargasson  by  birth,  and  to  her  the 
forswearing  of  her  people  meant  much,  in  sentiment  and 
in  fact.  She  was  of  the  Water  Worshipers,  and  nowhere 
else  on  the  face  of  the  earth  would  she  find  people  of  her 
faith!  She  was  deeply  religious,  and  her  willingness  to 
follow  me  into  an  unknown  part  of  the  world,  where  peo 
ple  dwelt  upon  solid  land  (incomprehensible  as  that  ap 
peared  to  her)  was  an  undeniable  proof  of  her  affection. 

I  was  deeply  affected  by  all  these  thoughts.  It  was 
only  a  few  months  since  the  Sargassons  had  loaded  me 
with  honors.  The  ceremonial  by  which  I  had  been  cre 
ated  Kantoon  of  the  Caribas  was  one  of  the  most  im- 


174  MISSING. 

posing  and  splendid  that  had  ever  been  known  in  Sar 
gasso.  These  facts  only  emphasized  my  ingratitude. 

I  cannot  expect  any  of  my  readers  to  understand 
the  feelings  that  welled  up  in  my  heart,  because  they 
have  not  dwelt  among  the  Sargasson  people,  and  cannot 
appreciate  the  high  and  peculiar  sense  of  honor  that  there 
obtains. 

In  addition  to  all  these  pretty  sentiments,  I  was  afraict 
to  give  up  the  scheme,  having  once  undertaken  it.  I 
feared  the  treachery  of  the  boatswain!  His  first  overin 
dulgence  in  rainwater  might  loosen  his  tongue  and  he 
might  divulge  my  secret.  My  punishment  would  be 
swift.  The  most  merciful  end  I  could  expect  would  be 
death  by  drowning;  but  I  have  since  learned  from  Fi- 
dette  that  the  only  treacherous  Kantoon  she  recalls  was 
strapped  upon  a  heavy  water  butt,  which  was  then  rolled 
about  the  deck  until  the  body  of  the  condemned  was 
crushed  into  pulp. 

It  was  too  late  for  me  to  retreat;  I  must  escape  or 
die  in  an  ignominous  manner. 

On  the  morning  following  our  final  conference  the 
boatswain  found  a  small  grindstone,  already  mounted, 
brought  it  to  the  deck  and  set  the  grinder  to  work.  The 
old  man  was  delighted.  He  trod  the  pedal  with  all  the 
glee  of  youth,  and  as  the  sparks  flew  he  laughed  and 
sang. 

THE    KNIFE-GRINDER'S    SONG. 
The  dogfish  needs  no  grinder  stout. 

His   teeth  are   in  his   head; 
The  whale  he  takes  his  molars  out, 
An<3  puts  'em   'side  his  bed. 
But  the  swordflsh.  he 
Engages  me — 
His  dontist,   don't  you  see. 
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra-loo" — 
The  wheel  sings  when  I  sing. 
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo  ra  loo; 
Too-ra-loo-ra-bur-r-r-r!" 

The  air  was  a  quaint  one,  and  recalled  the  first  six 
bars  in  "The  Boatswain's  Story,"  by  ^Malloy.  The 


THE  CARIBAS  UNDER  STEAM.  175 

words,  however,  were  Sargasson,  and  the  above  transla 
tion  is  very  liberal. 

The  men  hardly  had  to  be  asked  to  surrender  their 
knives.  They  gave  them  up  voluntarily,  so  anxious 
were  they  to  have  their  blades  bright  and  sharp.  The 
weapons  were  placed  in  a  box  that  I  had  prepared  for 
them.  In  order  to  delay  matters  I  gave  the  grinder  half 
a  dozen  cutlasses  from  my  own  cabin  that  were  to  be  fin 
ished  before  the  knives  were  ground.  All  day  long,  al 
most  without  a  moment's  rest,  the  old  knife-grinder 
tramped  and  sang  as  the  rusty  steel  struck  prickly  stars 
from  the  whirring  wheel. 

That  night  the  men  occupied  their  new  apartments 
for  the  first  time.  They  were  delighted  at  the  comforts 
I  had  prepared  for  them.  They  readily  divided  them 
selves  up  into  watches  and  associated  themselves  together 
in  groups  of  eight.  New  bedding  had  been  prepared  for 
all  the  men.  The  bunks  were  filled  with  the  driest  and 
softest  sea  grass  obtainable,  thus  forming  a  bed  as  soft 
as  a  hair  mattress.  I  wanted  them  to  sleep  well  this  first 
night.  I  had  so  divided  the  men  that  the  first  watch 
was  composed  of  thoroughly  tractable  members  of  the 
crew. 

The  moment  night  fell  the  boatswain  and  I  repaired 
to  the  boiler  room.  He  soon  struck  a  light  with  flint 
and  steel,  and  in  a  few  moments  we  had  the  fires  aglow. 
Leaving  him  in  charge  for  the  moment,  after  seeing  that 
he  was  thoroughly  armed,  I  returned  to  the  deck  and 
saw  that  all  the  ship's  company  had  retired  to  their  new 
and  sumptuous  sleeping  apartments. 

The  ideal  existence  of  the  Sargasson  sailor  is  to  have 
plentv  of  time  to  sleep  and  all  the  food  he  wants  to  eat. 
As  I  had  supposed,  everybodv  had  gone  to  bed  except 
the  eight  men  on  watch.  I  quietly  closed  the  doors  of  all 
the  compartments  and  secured  them  with  the  heavy  pad 
locks. 

I  then  mustered  the  watch,  and  marched  them  direct- 


176  MISSING. 

ly  to  the  furnace  room,  There  I  found  the  boatswain 
working  like  a  demon  to  keep  the  furnaces  full  of  wood 
and  seaweed.  The  sailors  regarded  the  open  mouth  of 
the  flaming  furnaces  with  reverential  awe.  How  natural 
is  man's  worship  of  the  elements.  As  it  happened,  they 
were  all  Sargassons  born  and  bred.  They  could  not  pos 
sibly  understand  the  purpose  for  which  the  fire  was  burn 
ing,  but  at  my  command  they  fell  lustily  to  work  under 
the  direction  of  the  boatswain.  Carefully  fastening  the 
heavy  iron  door  behind  me,  I  ascended  to  the  engine 
room  to  watch  the  steam  gauge. 

Hours  must  elapse  before  I  could  hope  to  move  the 
engine,  and  in  the  mean  time  I  sought  out  Fidette,  who 
was  sitting  at  her  cabin  window,  gazing  thoughtfully  out 
upon  the  night. 

Only  then  had  she  begun  to  realize  the  seriousness 
of  the  change  about  to  come  over  her  life.  She  knew 
also  that  we  had  gone  so  far  that  in  the  event  of  failure, 
exposure  and  punishment  would  be  certain.  I  tried  to 
reassure  her.  I  told  her  that,  if  under  a  sufficient  head 
of  steam,  the  engine  did  not  work,  not  a  man,  including1 
the  boatswain,  would  be  allowed  to  escape  from  the  fur 
nace  room.  I  would  descend  and  slaughter  every  one 
of  them  with  my  own  hand  rather  than  expose  myself, 
and  especially  her,  to  the  punishment  that  certainly  would 
await  us.  This  was  a  dreadful  thing  to  say,  but  I  had 
calmly  resolved  upon  the  extinction  of  these  nine  mem 
bers  of  the  crew  in  case  of  failure.  No  questions  were 
ever  asked  in  Sargasso  regarding  the  disappearance  of 
men  on  ship  board,  and  I  could  not  be  expected  to  ac 
count  for  the  missing  members  of  the  crew. 

As  I  should  have  explained,  I  had  filled  the  boilers 
with  sea  water  by  opening  the  valves  connected  with  the 
pumps)  outside  the  ship.  Careful  measurement  'had 
shown  me  that  the  boilers  were  all  below  the  water  line. 
After  steam  was  once  generated,  I  knew  that  the  pumps 
could  be  utilized  to  keep  the  boilers  filled. 


1HE  CAR  IB  A  8  UNDER  STEAM.  177 

You  can  imagine,  therefore,  with  what  anxiety  I 
stood  in  the  engine  room  and  watched  the  slow  but  sure 
rising  of  the  steam  gauge.  I  believed  a  pressure  of 
eighty  pounds  to  the  square  inch  would  be  required  to  get 
under  way.  The  engines  were  of  the  most  modern  triple 
expansion  type.  I  did  not  aim  at  high  speed,  for  I  be 
lieved  that  attack  would  be  impossible  if  I  could  obtain  a 
headway  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  an  hour. 

Fidette  soon  joined  me  in  the  engine  room.  The 
register  now  showed  twenty-one  pounds!  I  softly  rang 
the  bell  connecting  with  the  boatswain,  and  called  down 
through  the  tube,  telling  him  to  redouble  the  efforts  of 
the  men,  and  acquainting  him  with  the  fact  that  steam 
was  already  forming.  He  replied  at  once  that  the  men 
were  stuffing  the  furnaces  with  wood  and  pulpy  seaweed. 
But  the  influence  of  my  words  upon  him  produced  im 
mediate  results,  as  shown  by  the  steam  gauge.  It  began1 
slowly  to  turn  upon  the  disk. 

Forty  pounds  were  soon  indicated!  In  another 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  pressure  had  risen  to  forty-seven! 
Soon  it  was  fifty,  and  I  felt  that  in  another  hour  I  would 
be  able  to  make  the  supreme  test. 

^  What  would  be  the  result?  Would  the  piston,  after 
having  remained  for  two  years  stationary  in  the  cylinder, 
move  when  the  steam  pressure  was  admitted?  My  life 
itself  depended  upon  the  answer  to  that  question — if  not 
the  lives  of  Fidette  and  myself,  certainly  those  of  the  nine 
men  in  the  bowels  of  the  ship ! 


178  MISSING. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

FAREWELL,  TO  THE  FLOATING  CONTINENT. 

Having  sent  Fidette  back  to  her  cabin — for  I  did  not 
wish  her  to  witness  my  mortification  in  the  event  of  fail 
ure — I  approached  the  steam  gauge  and  looked  it  fairly 
in  the  face. 

Seventy-five  pounds  of  steam  pressure  were  indi 
cated. 

The  moment  had  come! 

I  stepped  promptly  to  the  rack  in  which  had  rested 
during  all  these  months  the  long,  slender  steel  lever  with 
which  the  engine  had  always  been  started.  I  took  it 
down  and  fitted  it  in  place.  Then,  having  signaled  to 
the  boatswain  that  I  was  about  to  make  the  trial,  I  quick 
ly  opened  the  valve,  and,  having  allowed  a  few  moments 
to  pass  in  order  that  the  hot  steam  might  impart  some 
of  its  warmth  to  the  large  pipes  and  to  the  cylinder,  I 
swung  the  lever,  as  I  had  often  done  before  on  the  Cari- 
bas  and  other  steamers. 

To  my  horror,  the  cylinder  did  not  respond.  Again 
and  again  I  shut  off  the  steam  and  suddenly  admitted  it, 
in  the  hope  that  the  shock  might  start  the  rusty  piston 
in  the  cylinder. 

Then  I  bethought  me  of  a  venturesome  experiment. 
Hastily  allowing  the  steam  to  escape  from  the  upper  end 
of  the  cylinder,  I  unscrewed  one  of  the  oil  cups,  and, 
having  procured  a  pint  of  sulphuric  acid  from  the  locker 
in  which  the  chemicals  were  kept,  I  diluted  it  three  times 
with  water,  and  poured  the  mixture  into  the  top  of  the 


FAREWELL  TO  THE  FLOATING  CONTINENT.        171 

cylinder.  It  was  a  very  risky  thing  to  do ;  but  I  remem 
bered  that  diluted  sulphuric  acid  was  used  for  removing 
verdigris  (which  is  the  corrosion  on  brass,  just  as  rust 
is  the  oxidation  on  iron),  and  it  had  seemed  to  me  the 
most  natural  way  of  cleansing  the  interior  of  the  cylinder. 
I  hastily  replaced  the  oil  cup,  using  the  first  wrench  I 
could  find  for  the  purpose. 

I  waited  ten  minutes  for  the  sulphuric  acid  to  ac 
complish  its  work.  Then  I  gave  the  wheel  that  opened 
connection  with  the  boilers  a  savage  twist,  throwing  the 
valve  wide  open  and  suddenly  admitting  to  the  cylinder 
the  full  head  of  steam,  now  registering  eighty-five  pounds 
of  pressure. 

At  the  first  stroke  of  the  lever  I  knew  that  the  en 
gine  was  going  to  work.  In  twenty  seconds  more  it  was 
running  on  its  own  momentum.  Its  mechanism  was 
somewhat  halting  and  unsteady,  but  I  could  feel  that  the 
shaft  communicating  with  the  propeller  was  revolving. 

I  hurried  on  deck  and,  with  an  axe  already  provided, 
I  cut  away  the  heavy  strands  of  seaweed  cable  that  held 
us  to  the  adjacent  tree  trunks.  With  a  few  blows  of  a 
sledge  hammer  I  knocked  the  heavy  anchor  chain  out  of 
the  bitts,  where  it  had  been  held  for  two  years,  and  it 
escaped  overboard  through  the  hawse  hole,  serpentlike, 
attended  with  a  noise  like  thunder. 

In  a  minute  more  we  were  steaming  along  the  Grand 
Canal !  , 

Fidette  had  been  recalled  to  the  engine  room,  and  I 
was  now  in  the  wheelhouse.  To  my  delight  I  found  that 
the  Caribas  answered  the  helm  perfectly.  As  soon  as 
we  had  emerged  from  the  dock-like  berth  in  which  the 
vessel  had  been  moored  into  the  broad  expanse  of  the 
Grand  Canal  I  slowly  swung  the  bow  of  the  Caribas  to 
the  westward,  and  headed  her  out  to  sea. 

We  passed  so  close  to  the  Happy  Shark!  that  I  could 
have  thrown  a  biscuit  on  board.  But  all  was  silence 
thereon.  Nowhere  in  the  semi-darkness  could  I  descry 


18u  \flSSlNO. 

a  moving  object.  We  were  then  passing  the  scene  of 
the  attack  by  the  pirates  of  the  Spar,  and  I  recalled  all 
the  incidents  of  that  desperate  contest.  Despite  the 
thrilling  sensations  of  freedom,  my  ears  still  rang  with 
the  cries  of  the  dying  and  the  shouts  of  the  victors. 

Fortunately  for  me,  in  my  early  apprenticeship  on 
the  sea,  I  had  served  many  watches  at  the  wheel.  Dur 
ing  my  stay  in  Sargasso,  with  the  hope  of  escape  ever 
present  before  me,  I  had  taken  careful  bearings  of  the 
Grand  Canal  as  the  only  recognized  watery  path  to  the 
ocean,  and,  although  it  had  not  a  beacon  or  other  com 
manding  headland,  I  had  no  fear  of  misadventure. 

Through  the  tube  communicating  with  the  engine 
room  I  encouraged  Fidette,  and  by  similar  means  im 
plored  the  boatswain  to  stand  by  the  torrid  furnaces. 

To  my  unbounded  delight  and  surprise  the  Caribas 
was  now  doing  as  well  as  she  had  ever  done  under  my 
command.  The  gummy,  resinous  character  of  the  sea 
weed  was  developing  more  boiler  power  than  had  ever 
been  extracted  from  coal.  I  learned  from  Fidette  that 
the  steam  gauge  showed  a  pressure  of  115  pounds. 

We  were  speeding  away  from  this  detested  com 
munity  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour! 

The  darkness  was  so  intense  that  I  felt  confident  we 
had  not  even  been  missed.  If  our  movements  had  been 
heard  by  any  of  the  ships  along  the  canal  I  knew  that 
an  interval  of  at  least  an  hour  would  be  required  to  com 
municate  the  fact  to  the  Chief  Kantoon.  But  the  curious 
system  of  marine  telegraphy,  which  I  have  described, 
was  complete  and  effective;  and  when  my  treason  was 
detected  the  Priest  of  the  Sacred  Fire  would  be  notified. 

We  were  nearing  the  outer  barrier  of  seaweed  when  I 
detected  from  the  wheelhouse  (which,  following  the  fash 
ion  of  the  American  coastwise  steamers,  had  been  placed 
in  the  forward  part  of  the  ship)  a  dark  object  moving 
over  the  face  of  the  black  waters.  I  knew  instinctively 
that  it  was  a  barge  fulled  with  Sargassons,  and  the  de- 


FAREWELL  TO  THE  FLOATING  CON:iNENT.         181 

moniacal  impulse  filled  my  heart  to  have  one  last  bit  of 
revenge  for  the  barbarous  and  inhuman  manner  in  which 
they  had  massacred  my  crew. 

I  changed  the  course  of  the  Caribas  two  points  and 
headed  directly  for  the  great  canoe.  Like  an  avenging 
genii  out  of  the  darkness  I  bore  down  upon  it.  The  men 
at  the  paddles  were  utterly  paralyzed  with  fear.  They 
could  not  understand  the  presence  of  this  huge  craft,  and 
by  their  inaction  were  an  easy  mark  for  the  blow  I  dealt 
them  amidships.  The  barge  was  crushed  like  an  egg 
shell,  and  the  thirty  men  were  thrown  into  the  water. 
Those  that  escaped  being  drawn  under  the  Caribas  by 
the  suction  or  ground  to  pieces  by  the  propeller  were  de 
voured  by  sharks  or  run  through  by  swordfish. 

The  open  water  of  the  ocean  lay  directly  ahead! 

In  another  quarter  of  an  hour  we  had  passed  the 
place  at  which  the  Caribas  had  fallen  a  prey  to  Sargasson 
treachery.  Assured  that  we  were  clear  of  all  entangling 
grass  I  made  the  wheel  fast  and  hurried  to  the  engine 
room,  where  I  kissed  and  embraced  Fidette — first  an 
nouncing  through  the  tube  to  the  faithful  boatswain  that 
we  had  escaped.  I  examined  the  water  cocks,  started  the 
pumping  engine  and  replenished  the  depleted  boilers. 
Then  I  went  carefully  over  the  engine  and  oiled  every 
pait(  after  which,  taking  Fidette  by  the  hand,  I  led  her  on 
deck,  en  route  to  the  pilot  house. 

As  we  ascended  the  main  companionway  into  the 
blackness  of  the  night  Fidette  stopped  short  in  her  walk 
and  exclaimed: 

"Behold!  See  the  Sacred  Fire!  Our  flight  is 
known  throughout  the  Seaweed  Sea!" 

^There,  high  in  the  sky,  stood  the  vivid  pillar  of  fire, 
waving  to  and  fro! 

Fidette  interpreted  the  signals  that  announced  my 
infamous  treachery.  The  proclamation  took  this  form: 

"The  Caribas  is  gone!  Her  Kantoon  shall  die.  A 
Kantoonship  to  his  captor!" 


182  MISSING. 

I  took  Fidette,  dear  little  creature,  in  my  arms,  and, 
as  I  kissed  her,  said: 

"They  are  too  late,  my  pet.     Our  next  address,  I 

hope,  will  be  New  York." 

********** 

It  is  quite  needless  to  prolong  this  narrative  further. 
After  two  days'  steaming  due  north  the  fuel  was  ex 
hausted  and  our  engine  ceased  to  work.  I  constructed, 
from  all  the  blankets  on  board  ship,  staysails,  with  which 
I  was  able  to  keep  the  Caribas  out  of  the  trough  of  the 
sea.  I  gave  liberty  to  only  eight  members  of  the  crew 
at  a  time. 

For  four  days  we  rode  out  the  ocean  swell.  We 
were  sighted  by  the  German  steamer  Nordland,  bound 
from  Gibraltar  to  New  York.  She  soon  came  within 
hailing  distance.  The  Nordland's  second  officer  was 
sent  aboard  us.  To  him  I  recounted  briefly  our  situa 
tion.  He  returned  to  his  ship,  and  twenty  men  came 
to  aid  me  in  bringing  the  Caribas  into  port. 

A  line  was  passed  to  us,  and  six  days  of  slow  steam 
ing  brought  us  to  New  York,  whsre  we  anchored  in  the 
Horseshoe. 

All  the  cities  of  America  are  great;  but  New  York 
— New  York  is  greatest  of  all,  because  it  owes  every 
thing  to  the  sea. 

Fidette  came  ashore  with  me,  and  her  emotions 
when  she  first  beheld  houses  and  city  streets  were  curious. 

The  arrival  of  the  Caribas  was  cabled  to  Europe,  of 
course,  and  late  the  next  afternoon  our  agents  on  this 
side  of  the  water  received  the  following  telegram: 

"Austin   Clark,   New  York: 

"Proceed  Santos,    then  Buenos  Ayreg  for  orders. 

"TRTPPLETT  &  JONES/' 

Utterly  without  sentiment,  curiosity,  or — gratitude, 
are  some  shipowners. 

THE  END. 


NEW 


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SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

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